r 


A 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


EUROPEAN  BISON. 

From  a  painting  on  the  roof  of  the   Cave 
of  AUamira,  Spain. 

AFTER   A  DRAWING  BY 
M.   H  BREUIL 


PREHISTORIC  TIMES 

AS    ILLUSTRATED    BY 

ANCIENT     REMAINS 

AND    THE 

MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS 
OF    MODERN    SAVAGES 


BY 

The  late  Rt.  Hon.  LORD   AVEBURY 

D.C.L.  (Oxon.),  LL.D.  (Cantab.,  Dubl.  et  F.din.),  M.D.  (Wiirzb),  F.R.S.,  V.P.L.S.,  F.G.S., 

F.Z.S.,  F.S.A.,  F.E.S.,  Trust.  Brit.  Mus. ;  Assoc.  Acad.  Roy.  dcs  Sci.  Brux. ; 

Hon.  Mem.  R.  Irish  Acad.,  Amer.  Etlinol.  Soc.,  Anthrop.  Soc.  Wash.  (U.S.),  Brux.,  Fierenze, 

Anthrop.  Verein  Graz,  Soc.  Entom.  de  France,  Soc.  G60I.  de  la  Suisse,  and  Soc.  Helvet.  des  Sci.  Nat. 

Mem.  Amer.  Phil.  Soc.  Philad.  and  Soc.  d'Ethn.  de  Paris ;  Corresp.  Mem.  Soc.  Nat.  des  Sci. 

Nat.  de  Cherb.,  Berl.  Gesell.  fiir  Anthrop.,  Soc.  Romana  di  Antrop.,  Soc.  d'Hmul.  d'Abbeville, 

Soc.  Cient.  Argentina.  Soc.  de  Giog.  de  Lisb.,  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.  Philad,,  Numis.  and  Ant.  Soc.  Philail. 

Amer.  Entom.  Soc. ;  For.  Assoc.  Mem.  Soc.  d'Anthrop.  de  Paris ; 

For.  Mem.  Amer.  Antiq.  Soc 


SEVENTH   EDITION,     THOROUGHLY  REVISED 
AND    ENTIRELY  RESET 


NEW  YORK 

HENRY     HOLT    AND     COMPANY 

LONDON:  WILLIAMS  &  NORGATE 


PUBLISHERS'    NOTE 

In  the  spring  of  the  year,  and  only  a  few  months  before 
his  lamented  death,  Lord  Avebury  subjected  this  work  to 
a  very  thorough  revision,  making  numerous  additions 
dealing  with  recent  discoveries  and  theories,  and  cutting 
out  portions  which  seemed  no  longer  essential. 

Besides  this  a  number  of  new  illustrations  have  been 
added,  to  replace  or  supplement  those  of  the  earlier 
editions. 

The  book  has  been  entirely  reset,  and,  though  the 
author  was  not  able  to  pass  the  proof-sheets  himself, 
every  care  has  been  taken  to  carry  out  his  wish  that 
the  book  should  remain  an  accurate  and  up-to-date 
guide  to  the  student  of  prehistoric  times. 

We  wish  to  express  our  thanks  to  those  who  have 
assisted  us  in  the  preparation  of  this  edition  or  have 
kindly  given  us  permission  to  reproduce  their  work  in 
the  illustrations. 

WILLIAMS    &    NORGATE. 

November  1913. 


CONTENTS 


CHAP. 
I. 

2. 

3- 

4- 

5- 
6. 


9- 

lO. 

1 1. 

12. 

13- 

14. 

15- 
16. 


INTRODUCTION         ..... 
ON    THE    USE    OF    BRONZE    IN    ANCIENT    TIMES 
THE    BRONZE    AGE  .... 

THE  USE  OF  STONE  IN  ANCIENT  TIMES  . 
MEGALITHIC  MONUMENTS  AND  TUMULI  . 
THE    ANCIENT    LAKE-HABITATIONS    OF     SWITZER 

LAND  .... 

THE      DANISH      KJOKKENMODDINGS      OR      SHELL 

MOUNDS  .... 
NORTH    AMERICAN    ARCHAEOLOGY 
QUATERNARY    MAMMALIA 
PRIMEVAL    MAN 
RIVER-DRIFT    GRAVEL-BEDS 
ON    THE    ANTIQUITY    OF    MAN  . 
MODERN    SAVAGES 

MODERN    SAVAGES COHttnUed  . 

MODERN    SAVAGES COHcluded  . 

CONCLUDING    REMARKS    . 
APPENDIX       .... 
INDEX.  .... 


PAGE 
I 

28 
65 

73 
107 

180 

226 
250 
280 

307 
340 

383 

427 

490 

53^ 
578 
595 
598 


PREHISTORIC    TIMES 


CHAPTER   I 

INTRODUCTION 

The  first  appearance  of  man  in  Europe  dates  from  a 
period  so  remote,  that  neither  history,  nor  tradition,  can 
throw  any  light  on  his  origin,  or  mode  of  hfe.  Under 
these  circumstances,  some  have  supposed  that  the  past 
is  hidden  from  the  present  by  a  veil,  which  time  will 
probably  thicken,  but  never  can  remove.  Thus  our 
prehistoric  antiquities  have  been  valued  as  monuments 
of  ancient  skill  and  perseverance,  not  regarded  as  pages 
of  ancient  history  ;  recognized  as  interesting  vignettes, 
not  as  historical  pictures.  Some  writers  have  assured  us 
that,  in  the  words  of  Palgrave,  "  We  must  give  it  up, 
that  speechless  past ;  whether  fact  or  chronology,  doctrine 
or  mythology  ;  whether  in  Europe,  Asia,  Africa,  or 
America  ;  at  Thebes  or  Palenque,  on  Lycian  shore  or 
Salisbury  Plain  :  lost  is  lost  ;  gone  is  gone  for  ever." 
Others  have  taken  a  more  hopeful  view,  but  in  attempt- 
ing to  reconstruct  the  story  of  the  past,  they  have  too 
often  allowed  imagination  to  usurp  the  place  of  research, 
and  have  written  in  the  spirit  of  the  novelist,  rather  than 
in  that  of  the  philosopher. 

Of  late  years,  however,  a  new  branch  of  knowledge  has 
arisen  ;  a  new  Science  has,  so  to  say,  been  born  among 
us,  which  deals  with  times  and  events  far  more  ancient 
than  any  which  have  yet  fallen  within  the  province  of  the 

I  I 


xJ 


2  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

archaeologist.  The  geologist  reckons  not  by  days  or  by 
years  ;  the  whole  six  thousand  years,  which  were  until 
lately  looked  on  as  the  sum  of  the  world's  existence,  are 
to  him  but  one  unit  of  measurement  in  the  long  suc- 
cession of  past  ages.  Our  knowledge  of  geology  is,  of 
course,  very  incomplete  ;  on  some  questions  we  shall  no 
doubt  see  reason  to  change  our  opinion,  but,  on  the 
whole,  the  conclusions  to  which  it  points  are  as  definite 
as  those  of  zoology,  chemistry,  or  any  of  the  kindred 
sciences.  Nor  does  there  appear  to  be  any  reason  why 
those  methods  of  examination  which  have  proved  so 
successful  in  geology,  should  not  also  be  used  to  throw 
light  on  the  history  of  man  in  prehistoric  times.  Archae- 
ology forms,  in  fact,  the  link  between  geology  and 
history.  It  is  true  that  in  the  case  of  other  animals  we 
can,  from  their  bones  and  teeth,  form  a  definite  idea  of 
their  habits  and  mode  of  life,  while  in  the  present  state 
of  our  knowledge  the  skeleton  of  a  savage  could  not 
always  be  distinguished  from  that  of  a  philosopher.  But 
on  the  other  hand,  while  other  animals  leave  only  teeth 
and  bones  behind  them,  the  men  of  past  ages  are  to  be 
studied  principally  by  their  works  :  houses  for  the  living, 
tombs  for  the  dead,  fortifications  for  defence,  temples  for 
worship,  implements  for  use,  and  ornaments  for  decoration. 
From  the  careful  study  of  the  remains  which  have 
come  down  to  us,  it  would  appear  that  Prehistoric 
Archaeology  may  be  divided  into  four  great  epochs. 

I.  That  of  the  Drift  ;  when  man  shared  the  possession 
of  Europe  with  the  Mammoth,  the  Cave  bear,  the  Woolly- 
haired  rhinoceros,  and  other  extinct  animals.  This  I 
have  proposed  to  call  the  "Palaeolithic"  Period. 

II.  The  later  or  polished  Stone  Age  ;  a  period  charac- 
terized by  beautiful  weapons  and  instruments  made  of 
flint  and  other  kinds  of  stone  ;  in  which,  however,  we 
find  no  trace  of  the  knowledge  of  any  metal,  excepting 
gold,  which  seems  to  have  been  sometimes  used  for 
ornaments.  For  this  period  I  have  suggested  the  term 
"Neolithic."^ 

1  These  two  names  have  met  with  general  acceptance. 


ARCHiEOLOGY   IN    FOUR   PERIODS        3 

III.  The  Bronze  Age,  in  which  bronze  was  used  for 
arms  and  cutting  instruments  of  all  kinds. 

IV.  The  Iron  Age,  in  which  that  metal  had  superseded 
bronze  for  arms,  axes,  knives,  etc.  ;  bronze,  however, 
still  being  in  common  use  for  ornaments,  and  frequently 
also  for  the  handles  of  swords  and  other  arms,  though 
never  for  the  blades. 

Stone  weapons,  however,  of  many  kinds  were  still  in 
use  during  the  Age  of  Bronze,  and  lingered  on  even  into 
that  of  Iron,  so  that  the  mere  presence  of  a  few  stone 
implements  is  not  in  itself  sufficient  evidence  that  any 
given  "  find "  belongs  to  the  Stone  Age.  In  order  to 
prevent  misapprehension,  it  may  also  be  well  to  state,  at 
once,  that,  for  the  present,  I  only  apply  this  classification 
to  Europe,  though,  in  all  probability,  it  might  be  extended 
also  to  the  neighbouring  regions  of  Asia  and  Africa. 
The  civilization  of  the  south  of  Europe,  moreover, 
preceded  that  of  northern  Europe.  As  regards  other 
civilized  countries,  China  and  Japan  for  instance,  we,  as 
yet,  know  but  little  of  their  prehistoric  archaeology, 
though  recent  researches  have  gone  far  to  prove  that  the 
use  of  iron  was  there  also  preceded  by  bronze,  and  bronze 
by  stone.  Some  nations,  indeed,  such  as  the  Fuegians, 
Andamaners,  etc.,  are  even  now,  or  were  very  lately,  in 
an  Age  of  Stone. 

It  is  probable  that  gold  was  the  metal  which  first 
attracted  the  attention  of  man  ;  it  is  found  in  many 
rivers,  and  by  its  bright  colour  would  certainly  strike 
even  the  rudest  savages,  who  are  known  to  be  very  fond 
of  personal  decoration.  Silver  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  discovered  until  long  after  gold,  and  was  apparently 
preceded  by  both  copper  and  tin  ;  for  it  rarely,  if  ever, 
occurs  in  tumuli  of  the  Bronze  Age  ;  but,  however  this 
may  be,  copper  seems  to  have  been  the  metal  which  first 
became  of  real  importance  to  Man  ;  no  doubt  owing  to 
the  fact  that  its  ores  are  abundant  in  many  countries,  and 
can  be  smelted  without  difficulty  ;  and  that,  while  iron  is 
hardly  ever  found  except  in  the  form  of  ore,  copper  often 
occurs  in  a  native  condition,  and  can  be  beaten  at  once 


4  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

into  shape.  Thus,  for  instance,  the  North  American 
Indians  obtained  pure  copper  from  the  mines  near  Lake 
Superior  and  elsewhere,  and  hammered  it  at  once  into 
axes,  bracelets,  and  other  objects. 

Tin  also  early  attracted  notice,  probably  on  account  of 
its  great  heaviness.  When  metals  were  very  scarce,  it 
would  naturally  sometimes  happen  that,  in  order  to  make 
up  the  necessary  quantity,  some  tin  would  be  added  to 
copper,  or  vice  versd.  It  would  then  be  found  that  the 
properties  of  the  alloy  were  quite  different  from  those  of 
either  metal,  and  a  very  few  experiments  would  determine 
the  most  advantageous  proportion,  which  for  axes  and 
other  cutting  instruments  is  about  nine  parts  of  copper 
to  one  of  tin.  No  implements  or  weapons  of  tin  have 
yet  been  found,  and  those  of  copper  are  rare,  in  Western 
Europe,  whence  it  has  been  inferred  that  the  art  of 
making  bronze  was  known  elsewhere  before  the  use  of 
either  copper  or  tin  was  introduced  into  Europe.  Many 
of  the  so-called  "  copper "  axes,  etc.,  contain  a  small 
proportion  of  tin  ;  and  the  few  exceptions  indicate  prob- 
ably a  mere  temporary  want,  rather  than  a  total  ignor- 
ance, of  this  metal. 

The  ores  of  iron,  though  more  abundant,  are  much 
less  striking  in  appearance  than  those  of  copper.  More- 
over, though  they  are  perhaps  more  easily  reduced,  the 
metal,  when  obtained,  is  much  less  tractable  than  bronze. 
This  valuable  alloy  can  very  easily  be  cast,  and,  in  fact, 
all  the  weapons  and  implements  made  of  it  in  olden  times 
were  cast  in  moulds  of  sand  or  stone.  The  art  of  casting 
iron,  on  the  other  hand,  was  unknown  until  a  compara- 
tively late  period. 

In  the  writings  of  the  early  poets,  iron  is  frequently  char- 
acterized by  the  epithet  ttoAi'/c/xj/to?,  and  its  adjective,  o-i(J>7|oeo9, 
is  used  metaphorically  to  imply  the  greatest  stubbornness. 

These  considerations  tend  very  much  to  remove  the 
a  priori  improbability  that  a  compound  and  compara- 
tively expensive  material  like  bronze  should  have  been  in 
general  use  before  such  a  common  metal  as  iron,  and  the 
evidence  that  it  was  so  seems  conclusive. 


ANCIENT   ALLUSIONS   TO   BRONZE         5 

Hesiod,  who  is  supposed  to  have  written  about  900  B.C., 
and  who  is  the  earliest  European  author  whose  works 
have  come  down  to  us,  appears  to  have  lived  soon  after 
the  transition  from  the  Bronze  to  the  Iron  Age.  He 
distinctly  states  that  iron  was  discovered  later  than  copper 
and  tin.  Speaking  of  those  who  were  ancient,  even  in 
his  day,  he  says  that  they  used  bronze,  and  not  iron. 

T019  ^'  ^v  "^aXKea  fiev  rev-^ea,      ^aAfceoi  oe  re  oikoc 
■^oKkw  (5'  eipyaCovTO  fxeXag  S^  ovk  ea-Ke  crlorjpoi, 

It  is  also  significant  that  the  word  ^"^'^^'^"''j  from  ■)(a\K09y 
bronze,  means  to  work  in  metal.  Moreover,  the  forms 
of  early  weapons  indicate  that  those  of  iron  were  copied 
from  bronze,  not  those  of  bronze  from  iron.  Hesiod's 
poems,  as  well  as  those  of  Homer,  show  that  more  than 
three  thousand  years  ago  the  value  of  iron  was  known 
and  appreciated.  It  is  true  that,  as  we  read  in  Dr  Smith's 
Dictionary  of  Greek  and  Roman  Antiquities^  bronze  "  is 
represented  in  the  Iliad  and  Odyssey  as  the  common 
material  of  arms,  instruments,  and  vessels  of  various 
sorts  ;  the  latter  (iron)  is  mentioned  much  more  rarely." 
While,  however,  the  above  statement  is  strictly  correct, 
we  must  remember  that  among  the  Greeks  the  word  iron 
(crlSrjpog)  was  used,  even  in  the  time  of  Homer,  as  synony- 
mous with  a  sword,  and  that  steel  also  appears  to  have  been 
known  to  them  under  the  name  of  aSafxag^  and  perhaps  also 
of  KvafO'fy  as  early  as  the  time  of  Hesiod.  We  may,  there- 
fore, consider  that  the  Trojan  war  took  place  during  the 
period  of  transition  from  the  Bronze  to  the  Iron  Age. 

In  the  Pentateuch,  excluding  Deuteronomy,  bronze, 
or,  as  it  is  unfortunately  translated,  brass,  is  mentioned 
thirty-eight  times,  and  iron  only  four  times. 

Lucretius  distinctly  mentions  the  three  ages.  He 
says  : — 

"  Arma  antiqua,  manus,  ungues,  dentesque  fuerunt 
Et  lapides,  et  item  sylvarum  fragniina  rami, 
Posterius  ferri  vis  est,  aerisque  reperta, 
Sed  prior  feris  erat,  quam  ferri  cognitus  usus."  ^ 

1  V.  1282. 


6  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

Coming  down  to  more  modern  times,  Eccard  ^  in  1750, 
and  Goguet  in  1758,^  mention  the  three  latter  ages  in 
plain  terms  ;^  the  same  idea  runs  through  Borlase's 
History  of  Cornwall ;  and  Sir  Richard  Colt  Hoare  also 
alludes  to  "  instruments  of  stone  before  the  use  of  metals 
was  known,"  and  expresses  the  opinion  that  instruments 
of  iron  "  denote  a  much  later  period "  than  those  of 
bronze. 

To  the  Northern  archaeologists,  however — especially  to 
C.  J.  Thomsen,  the  founder  of  the  Museum  at  Copenhagen, 
and  to  Professor  Nilsson — must  be  ascribed  the  merit  of 
having  raised  these  suggestions  to  the  rank  of  a  scientific 
classification. 

The  art  of  obtaining  metal  when  once  discovered 
offered  no  great  difficulty.  Dr  Percy  indeed  tells  us* 
that  "  nothing  more  easy  can  be  conceived."  In  various 
parts  of  the  world  metal  is  still  obtained  by  very  simple 
methods.  Dr  Gowland  quotes  examples  ^  from  Japan 
and  several  parts  of  Africa,  India,  etc.  Among  the  hill 
tribes  of  the  Ghats  in  India  "  the  furnace  is  first  filled 
nearly  half  full  of  charcoal,  and  upon  this,  fire  is  put, 
after  which  it  is  filled  to  the  top  with  charcoal.  The 
blast  is  then  applied.  When  the  charcoal  sinks  at  the 
top  of  the  furnace,  alternate  charges  of  ore  and  charcoal 
are  supplied  until  the  proper  charge  of  ore  has  been 
introduced,  after  which  the  blast  is  increased  and  main- 
tained till  the  close  of  the  operation.  The  greater  part 
of  the  slag  remains  in  the  furnace  and  is  taken  out  along 
with  the  iron.  In  from  four  to  six  hours  a  charge  is 
completed,  when,  the  front  of  the  furnace  being  removed, 
a  small  mass  of  malleable  iron,  slag,  and  unburnt  charcoal 
is  drawn  out."     The  iron  is  then  hammered  into  a  bar. 

Even  at  the  present  day  in  Ceylon  the  bloom  or  mass 
of  iron  is  taken  out  of  the  furnace  with  long  tongs  made 

^  Eccard,  De  Origine  et  Moribiis  Gennanoritm. 

2  Goguet,  De  t'OHgine  dcs  Lois,  des  Arts  ct  des  Sciences.  See  ch.  iv. 
and  the  Preface. 

•''  See  Rhind  in  Arch.  Ins.  Jour. ^  vol.  xiii. 

''  Metallurgy.,  h-on  and  Steel,  1 864. 

''   The  Metals  in  Antiquity,  Huxley  Mem.  Lecture,  1912,  p.  279. 


EARLY   HISTORY   OF   METALS  7 

of  greenwood  sticks  tied  together  at  one  end,  and  is 
then  beaten  a  little  into  shape  with  thick  sticks. 

It  is  probable  that  a  lump  of  ore  chanced  to  be  used  as 
one  of  the  enclosing  stones  of  a  hearth,  and  that  metal 
was  thus  produced. 

The  North  American  Indians  worked  the  native  copper 
found  near  Lake  Superior,  and  the  Esquimaux  made 
knives,  etc.,  from  the  Ovifak  masses  of  meteoric  iron. 
In  both  these  cases,  however,  the  metal  was  used  as  a 
malleable  stone. 

M.  Wibel  ^  is  of  opinion  that  the  ancient  bronze  was 
obtained,  not  by  the  fusion  of  copper  and  of  tin,  but 
directly  from  ore  containing  the  two  metals.  This  is 
also  the  opinion  of  Dr  Gowland.^  On  the  other  hand, 
I  was  assured  by  the  late  Sir  H.  H.  Vivian  (afterwards 
Lord  Swansea),  than  whom  we  had  no  higher  authority  in 
this  country,  that  in  his  judgment  it  is  almost  impossible 
that  bronze  can  ever  have  been  so  obtained.  I  cannot, 
therefore,  but  agree  with  those  who  maintain  that  the 
knowledge  of  bronze  must  necessarily  have  been  preceded 
by  the  separate  use  of  copper  and  of  tin. 

Copper  and  tin  were  perhaps  discovered  in  Central 
Asia.  The  earliest  evidence  of  their  use  is  in  Egypt. 
Neither  of  them,  however,  occurs  in  that  country,  though 
the  copper  mines  of  Mount  Sinai  were  worked  by  King 
Dyezer  of  the  Ilird  Dynasty,  about  4000  b.c.,^  and  small 
implements  of  bronze  occur  in  the  tombs  of  Abydos, 
El  Amreh,  etc.,  which  are  referred  to  an  even  earlier  period. 
The  earliest  piece  of  bronze  at  present  known  is  said 
to  be  the  rod  found  at  Mediim  in  Egypt,  and  which  is 
dated  at  3700  b.c.  The  earliest  metal  dagger  yet  known 
is  a  copper  weapon  with  two  holes  for  rivets,  found  at 
Nagada  in  a  necropolis  dating  from  the  period  preceding 
the  1st  Dynasty  ;  but  the  oldest  copper  daggers  from 
Cyprus  and   Syria   cannot    be   very  much   later   in   date. 

1  Die  Cultur  der  Bronze-zeit  Nord-  und  Mittcl-F.iiropas^  Dr  F.  Wibel, 
Kiel. 
-   The  Metals  in  Antiquity^  Huxley  Lecture,  1912,  p.  241. 
•'  De  Morgan,  Rech.  s.  I.  Or.  de  r Egypt,  p.  230. 


8  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

The  Museum  of  Gizeh  contains  an  admirable  bronze 
statue  of  Pepi  I.,  who  is  supposed  to  have  reigned  about 
3400  B.C.  It  seems  probable  that  the  use  of  metal  was 
not  discovered  in  Egypt,  but  that  the  Pharaonic  Egyptians 
brought  the  knowledge  of  metals  with  them  from  the  East. 

As  regards  iron,  Mr  Budge  informs  me  that  in  a 
passage  in  the  funeral  text  of  Pepi  I.,  about  b.c.  3400,  it 
is  said  that  this  king  will  sit  upon  a  "  throne  of  iron 
ornamented  with  lions'  faces,"  and  the  hoofs  of  the  bull 
Sma-ur  (see  Recueil  de  Travaux^  vol.  vii.  p.  154),  and  in 
several  places  in  the  texts  of  this  period  there  is 
abundant  reference  to  iron.  Thus  the  abode  of  the 
blessed  was  in  heaven,  the  floor  of  which  was  made  of 
iron,  and  the  Nile  flowed  across  it.  The  earth  below  was 
lit  by  night  either  by  lamps  being  suspended  from  holes 
which  had  been  bored  in  it,  or  by  the  light  which 
made  its  way  through  the  holes.  The  recensions  of  these 
texts  which  we  now  have  cannot  have  been  made  after 
B.C.  3800,  and  in  his  opinion  they  are  much  earlier. 

There  is  a  prayer  in  the  Harris  papyrus,  written  during 
the  reign  of  Rameses  III.  (1300  b.c),  that  the  words  of 
the  king  may  be  "  firm  as  iron."  In  the  same  papyrus 
vessels  of  iron  are  mentioned,  and  the  king  is  said  to  have 
made  the  wall  of  the  temple  of  Horus  like  a  "  hill  of 
iron."  Objects  of  iron  are  also  mentioned  in  the  Karnac 
tribute.  In  the  lists  of  Thothmes  III.  (1600  b.c.)  iron 
comes  third  in  the  series  of  metals  paid  as  tribute. 
These  references,  however,  imply  that  the  use  of  iron 
was  already  well  known. ^  This  renders  less  improbable 
the  authenticity  of  the  piece  of  iron  said  to  have  been 
found  wedged  in  between  two  of  the  stones  of  the  Great 
Pyramid.^  Maspero,  moreover,  in  1882  found  some 
pieces  of  iron  in  the  Black  Pyramid  of  Abousir  (Vlth 
Dynasty)  ;^  but  no  iron  has  been  found  in  any  of  the 
tombs  belonging  to  the  earlier  Egyptian  dynasties. 

The  earliest  evidence  of  iron  in  Assyria  is  an  inscrip- 

1  I  am  indebted  for  these  particulars  to  Mr  Budge. 

^  Vyse,  Pyramids  of  Gizeh,  vi.  p.  275. 

^  Maspero,  Guide  du  Musce  de  Boulaq,  p.  296. 


IRON   IN   ANCIENT   EUROPE  9 

tion  of  Tigkth-Pileser  (1120  b.c),  who  says:  "In  the 
desert  of  Mitani  near  Araziki,  which  is  in  front  of  the  land 
of  Hatti,  I  slew  four  mighty  buffaloes  with  my  great  bow 
and  iron  arrows,  and  with  my  lance." 

In  China  copper  is  said  to  have  been  used  as  far  back 
as  the  reign  of  Yu  Nai  Hwang-ti,  2200  b.c.  ;  and  iron  in 
that  of  Kung  Kiu,  about  1900  b.c.^  Copper  axes  of  very 
simple  type  have  also  been  discovered  in  India,  but  we 
have  no  means  of  determining  their  date. 

The  remarkable  phase  of  archaic  culture  known  as 
Mycenaean — when  arms  of  bronze  were  beautifully  inlaid 
with  gold,  when  gems  were  cut,  and  the  potter's  art  had 
attained  a  high  degree  of  perfection — appears  to  have 
attained  its  zenith  about  1500  b.c.  It  must,  therefore, 
have  commenced  much  earlier. 

The  date  of  the  introduction  of  iron  into  the  North  of 
Europe  cannot  at  present  be  satisfactorily  determined  ; 
nevertheless,  it  is  most  likely  that  the  use  of  this  metal 
spread  rapidly.  Not  only  does  it  seem  a  priori  probable 
that  such  an  important  discovery  would  have  done  so, 
but  it  is  evident  that  the  same  commercial  organization 
which  had  already  carried  the  tin  of  Cornwall  all  over  our 
continent,  would  equally  facilitate  the  transmission  of 
iron.  However  this  may  be,  the  soldiers  of  Brennus 
were  provided  with  iron  swords,  and  when  the  armies  of 
Rome  brought  the  civilization  of  the  South  into  contact 
with  that  of  the  North,  they  found  iron  already  well 
known  to,  and  in  general  use  among,  their  new  enemies. 
Nor  is  there  any  reason  to  suppose  that  arms  of  bronze 
were  also  at  that  time  still  in  use  in  the  North,  for,  had 
this  been  so,  they  would  certainly  have  been  mentioned 
by  the  Roman  writers  ;  whereas  the  description  given  by 
Tacitus  of  the  Caledonian  weapons  shows  that  in  his 
time  the  swords  used  in  Scotland  were  made  of  iron. 
Moreover,  there  are  several  cases  in  which  large  quan- 
tities of  arms  belonging  to  the  Roman  period  have  been 
found  together,  and  in  which  the  arms  and  implements 
are  all  of  iron.  This  argument  is  in  its  very  nature 
^  De  Lacouperie,  Brit.  Mtis.  Cat.  of  Chinese  Coins,  p.  9. 


lo  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

cumulative,  and  cannot  therefore  be  fully  developed 
here,  but  out  of  many,  I  will  mention  a  few  cases  in 
illustration. 

Some  years  ago,  an  old  battle-field  was  discovered  at 
Tiefenau,  near  Berne,  and  described  by  M.  Jahn.  On  it 
were  found  a  great  number  of  objects  made  of  iron  ; 
such  as  fragments  of  chariots,  bits  for  horses,  wheels, 
pieces  of  coats  of  mail,  and  arms  of  various  sorts,  includ- 
ing no  less  than  a  hundred  two-handed  swords.  All  of 
these  were  made  of  iron,  but  with  them  were  several 
fibulae  of  bronze,  and  some  coins,  of  which  about  thirty 
were  of  bronze,  struck  at  Marseilles,  and  presenting  a 
head  of  Apollo  on  one  side  and  a  bull  on  the  other  ;  both 
good  specimens  of  Greek  art.  The  rest  were  silver 
pieces,  also  struck  at  Marseilles.  These  coins,  and  the 
absence  of  any  trace  of  Roman  influence,  sufficiently 
indicate  the  antiquity  of  these  interesting  remains. 

A  very  similar  collection  of  antiquities  has  been 
obtained  from  the  ancient  lake-village  near  La  Tene,  on 
the  Lake  of  Neufchatel.  This  interesting  locality  will  be 
referred  to  again  in  the  chapter  on  Swiss  lake-villages, 
and  I  will  here  only  observe  that  50  swords,  5  axes, 
4  knives,  and  23  lances  have  been  discovered,  but  not  a 
single  weapon  of  bronze.  Nine  coins  have  been  also 
found  here,  while  not  a  single  one  has  been  met  with  in 
any  of  the  Stone  Age  or  Bronze  Age  villages.  Yet  the 
Gauls  had  a  coinage  of  their  own  nearly  three  hundred 
years  before  Christ,  and  the  Britons,  as  Sir  John  Evans  ^ 
has  well  shown,  about  a  century  or  perhaps  one  hundred 
and  fifty  years  later. 

Some  very  interesting  "  finds  "  of  articles  belonging  to 
the  Iron  Age  have  been  made  in  the  peat  bogs  of  Slesvick, 
and  described  by  M.  Engelhardt,  Curator  of  the  Museum 
at  Flensborg.  One  of  these,  in  the  Moss  of  Nydam, 
comprises  clothes,  sandals,  brooches,  tweezers,  beads, 
helmets,  shields,  shield  bosses,  breastplates,  coats  of  mail, 
buckles,    sword-belts,    sword-sheaths,    100    swords,    500 

^  The  Coins  of  the  Ancient  Britons,  1864,  by  Sir  John  Evans,  K.C.J]., 
F.R.S. 


IRON   IN   NORTHERN   EUROPE  ii 

spears,  30  axes,  40  awls,  160  arrows,  80  knives,  various 
articles  of  horse  gear,  wooden  rakes,  mallets,  vessels, 
wheels,  pottery,  coins,  etc.  Without  a  single  exception, 
all  the  weapons  and  cutting  implements  are  made  of  iron, 
though  bronze  was  freely  used  for  brooches  and  other 
similar  articles.^ 

In  the  summer  of  1862,  M.  Engelhardt  found  in  the 
same  field  a  ship,  or  rather  a  large  flat-bottomed  boat, 
70  feet  in  length,  3  feet  deep  in  the  middle,  and 
8  or  9  feet  wide.  The  sides  are  of  oak  boards,  over- 
lapping one  another,  and  fastened  together  by  iron 
bolts.  On  the  inner  side  of  each  board  are  several 
projections,  which  are  not  made  from  separate  pieces,  but 
were  left  when  the  boards  were  cut  out  of  the  solid 
timber.  Each  of  these  projections  has  two  small  holes, 
through  which  ropes,  made  of  the  inner  bark  of  trees, 
were  passed,  in  order  to  fasten  the  sides  of  the  boat  to  the 
ribs.  The  rowlocks  are  formed  by  a  projecting  horn  of 
wood,  under  which  is  an  orifice,  so  that  a  rope,  fastened 
to  the  horn  and  passing  through  the  orifice,  leaves  a 
space  through  which  the  oar  played.  There  appear  to 
have  been  about  fifty  pairs  of  oars,  of  which  sixteen  have 
already  been  discovered.  The  bottom  of  the  boat  was 
covered  by  matting.  I  visited  the  spot  about  a  week 
after  the  boat  had  been  discovered,  but  was  unable  to  see 
much  of  it,  as  it  had  been  taken  to  pieces,  and  the  boards, 
etc.,  were  covered  over  with  straw  and  peat,  that  they 
might  dry  slowly.  In  this  manner,  M.  Engelhardt  hoped 
that  they  would  perhaps,  at  least  in  part,  retain  their 
original  shape.  The  freight  of  the  boat  consisted  of  iron 
axes,  including  a  socketed  celt  with  its  handle,  swords, 
lances,  knives,  brooches,  whetstones,  wooden  vessels, 
and,  oddly  enough,  two  birch  brooms,  with  many  smaller 
articles.  Only  those,  however,  have  yet  been  found 
which  remained  actually  in  the  boat  ;  and  as,  in  sinking, 

'  See  Lubbock  in  Nat.  Hist.  Re7'.,  Oct.  1863,  and  Stephens  in  Gent. 
Afa£-.,  Dec.  1863.  On  one  of  the  arrows  were  some  Runic  characters.  I 
had  the  pleasure  of  visiting  this  interesting  spot  with  M.  Engelhardt  in 
1862.     See  also  Denmark  in  the  Early  Iron  Age.,  by  C.  Engelhardt. 


12  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

it  turned  partly  over  on  its  side,  no  doubt  many  more 
articles  will  reward  further  explorations.  It  is  evident 
that  this  ancient  boat  was  sunk  on  purpose,  because 
there  is  a  square  hole  about  six  inches  in  diameter  hewn 
out  of  the  bottom  ;  and  it  has  been  suggested  that  these 
objects  were  sunk  as  offerings  to  the  Lake,  but,  on  the 
whole,  it  seems  more  probable  that  in  some  time  of  panic 
or  danger  the  objects  contained  in  it  were  thus  hidden  by 
their  owner,  who  was  never  able  to  recover  them.  Even 
in  recent  times  of  disturbance,  as,  for  instance,  in  the 
beginning  of  last  century,  and  in  1848,  many  arms, 
ornaments,  household  utensils,  etc.,  were  so  effectually 
hidden  in  the  lakes  and  peat  mosses,  that  they  could 
never  be  found  again.  Much  interest  is  added  to  this 
vessel  and  its  contents,  by  the  fact  that  we  can  fix  almost 
their  exact  date.  The  boat  lies,  as  I  have  already 
mentioned,  within  a  few  yards  of  the  spot  where  the 
previous  discoveries  at  Nydam  were  made,  and  as  all  the 
arms  and  ornaments  exactly  correspond,  there  can  be 
little  doubt  that  they  belong  to  the  same  period.  Now, 
the  previous  collection  included  nearly  fifty  Roman  coins, 
ranging  in  date  from  a.d.  67  to  a.d.  217,  and  we  cannot 
therefore  be  far  wrong  in  referring  these  remains  to  the 
third  century. 

A  very  similar  discovery  has  been  made  at  Thorsbjerg 
in  the  same  neighbourhood,  but  in  this  case,  owing  to 
some  chemical  difference  in  the  peat,  the  iron  has  been 
almost  entirely  removed.  It  may  naturally  be  asked 
why,  then,  this  should  be  quoted  as  an  instance  of  the 
Iron  Age  .''  And  the  answer  seems  quite  satisfactory. 
All  the  swords,  lance-heads,  and  axe-blades  have  dis- 
appeared, while  the  handles  of  bronze  or  wood  are 
perfectly  preserved,  and  as  the  ornaments  and  other 
objects  of  bronze  are  well  preserved,  it  is  evident  that 
the  swords,  etc.,  were  not  of  that  metal  ;  and  it  is  there- 
fore reasonable  to  conclude  that  they  were  of  iron, 
more  especially  as  the  whole  character  of  the  objects 
resembles  that  of  those  found  at  Nydam,  and  the  coins, 
which  are   about   as    numerous  as  those  from  the  latter 


IRON   IN   NORTHERN   EUROPE 


13 


place,  range  from  60  a.d.  to  197  a.d.  ;  so  that  these 
two  great  "  finds "  may  be  regarded  as  almost  con- 
temporaneous. 

Not  only  are  the  weapons  in  these  finds  all  of 
iron,  but  their  forms  and  the  character  of  the  orna- 
mentation are  very  different  from  those  of  the  Bronze 


I 


/ 


X 


s/ 


X 


X 


•  II    ^ 


> 

) 


/ 

\ 

M 


X 


Fig.  I. — Ancient  Danish  arrow-head,  with  owner's  mark. 
Fig.  2. — Modern  Esquimaux  arrow-head,  with  owner's  mark. 

collection,  one-half  natural  size. 
Fig.  t,. — Owners'  marks  from  various  ancient  Danish  arrows. 


In  my 


Age  ;  resembling  in  some  respects  Roman  arms,  in  others 
they  are  quite  peculiar,  and  evidently  representative  of 
Northern  art. 

Many  of  the  arrows  had  owners'  marks  on  them  (figs. 
I  and  3)  resembling  those  on  the  modern  Esquimaux 
arrows  (fig.  2).  The  Nydam  swords  also  bear  seven 
inscriptions  ;  three  of  them  are  illegible,  the  others  are 
"  ricus,"  "  riccim,"   "  cocillus,"  and  "  umored."     On   the 


14  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

umbo  of  one  of  the  shields  is  inscribed,  in  dotted  Roman 
letters,  AEL.  AELIANUS  ;  while  another  one  has  a  short 
Runic  ^  inscription,  which  Mr  Haigh  reads  as  Aisc  Ah 
(Aisc  owns)  ;  ^  two  figures  resembling  Runic  letters  are 
also  inlaid  with  golden  wire  on  one  of  the  sword  blades. 
One  of  the  Thorsbjerg  scabbards  also  has  a  Runic  in- 
scription of  two  lines,  each  containing  ten  letters. 

I  particularly  dwell  on  these  cases,  because  no  inscrip- 
tions or  coins  have  yet  been  found  which  can  be  referred 
to  the  Bronze  Age. 

For  the  same  reason  the  abundance  of  silver  is  very 
significant  ;  out  of  two  hundred  buckles  and  square  silver 
girdle  ornaments,  the  greater  number  are  of  bronze 
plated  with  silver,  and  silver  was  also  used  to  ornament 
shield  rims,  sandals,  brooches,  breast-plates,  sword-hilts, 
sword-sheaths,  girdles,  harness,  etc.,  as  well  as  for  clasps, 
pendants,  boxes,  and  tweezers,  while  one  helmet  was 
formed  entirely  of  this  comparatively  rare  metal. 

The  ornamentation  also  of  the  shields,  etc.,  is  of  a 
character  altogether  unlike  any  that  occurs  in  the  Bronze 
Age. 

An  assemblage  of  objects  very  similar  to  those  of 
Nydam  and  Thorsbjerg  has  also  been  found  in  the 
"  Vimose,"  or  "  Moss  of  the  Temple."  It  comprises  no 
less  than  1 500  lance-heads,  40  axes,  and  30  swords,  all 
of  iron  ;  abundance  of  silver  ;  one  Roman  and  three 
Runic  inscriptions  ;  and  a  coin  of  Faustina  Junior. 
Here,  again,  bronze  weapons  are  entirely  absent,  though 
bronze  was  used  for  ornaments,  etc. 

From  these  and  similar  discoveries,  it  appears  evident 
that  the  use  of  bronze  weapons  had  been  discontinued  in 
the  North  long  before  the  commencement  of  our  era. 
From  the  ease  with  which  bronze  could  be  worked,  this 
metal  was  still  used  for  brooches  and  ornaments  ;  but  in 
the  manufacture  of  swords,  axes,  and  similar  implements, 
it  had  been  entirely  superseded  by  iron.  There  are  many 
cases  on  record  of  iron  swords  with  bronze  handles  or 
scabbards,  but  scarcely  an  instance  of  the  reverse. 

'  See  Appendix  No.  i.  -  Archceological Journal,  1863. 


EARLY   USE   OF   BRONZE  15 

Conversely,  as  bronze  weapons  are  entirely  absent 
from  the  great  "  finds "  of  the  Iron  Age,  so  are  iron 
weapons  altogether  wanting  in  those  instances  where,  as 
for  instance  at  Nidau,  on  the  Lake  of  Bienne,  and  Esta- 
vayer,  on  that  of  Neufchatel,  large  quantities  of  bronze 
tools  and  weapons  have  been  found  together. 

To  sum  up  this  argument,  though  the  discoveries  of 
bronze  and  of  iron  weapons  have  been  very  numerous, 
yet  there  is  hardly  a  single  case  in  which  swords,  axes, 
daggers,  or  other  weapons  of  these  two  different  metals 
have  been  found  together  ;  nor  are  bronze  weapons 
found  associated  with  inscriptions,  or  with  coins,  pottery, 
or  other  relics  of  Roman  origin. 

So,  also,  though  no  doubt  stone  weapons  were  used 
during  the  Bronze  Age,  there  are  many  cases  in  which 
large  numbers  of  stone  implements  and  weapons  have 
been  found  without  any  of  metal. 

In  illustration  of  this  argument,  I  must  call  attention 
to  the  following  table.  Objects  found  singly  teach  us 
comparatively  little,  but  when  numbers  occur  together 
they  become  much  more  instructive.  The  first  ten 
localities  are  some  of  the  Swiss  lake-villages,  which  will 
be  described  in  Chapter  VI.  ;  to  which  I  have  added  the 
Nydam  find  just  alluded  to,  and  two  of  the  great  French 
bronze  finds. 

Now  from  the  ancient  lake -village  in  the  peat  moss  of 
Moosseedorf  we  have  a  list  comprising  75  flint  nuclei,  25 
arrow-heads,  12  spear-heads,  90  scrapers,  30  saws,  96 
axes,  310  long  flakes  and  about  2000  small  ones,  25 
hammers,  45  grindstones,  etc.,  71  awls  of  bone,  12  pointed 
ribs,  160  bone  chisels,  18  sharpened  boar's  teeth,  8 
perforated  boar's  teeth,  2  perforated  bear's  teeth,  5 
harpoons  of  horn,  8  chisels  and  4  awls  of  horn,  besides 
30  axe-handles  or  sockets,  without  a  trace  of  metal.  The 
result,  so  far  as  six  stations  are  concerned,  is  shown  in  the 
following  table  (p.  16). 

If,  for  instance,  we  commence  with  the  remains  dis- 
covered at  Wangen,  on  the  Lake  of  Constance,  we  have 
an   even    more   remarkable  case.      M.    Lohle   has    found 


i6 


PREHISTORIC  TIMES 


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IS 

ARCHAEOLOGICAL   EVIDENCE  17 

there  more  than  1500  axes,  100  whetstones,  150  corn- 
crushers,  and  2500  arrow-heads,  flint  flakes,  chips,  etc.  ; 
altogether  more  than  4450  instruments  of  stone,  besides 
about  350  of  bone,  making,  with  100  earthenware  spinning- 
weights,  a  grand  total  of  nearly  5000  objects,  and  yet  not 
a  trace  of  metal.  The  number  of  corn-crushers  and 
spindle-whorls  is  interesting,  when  we  remember  that 
Wangen  alone,  among  these  four  localities,  has  supplied 
us  with  specimens  of  carbonized  grain,  and  flax  fabrics. 

Now  let  me  ask  the  reader  to  compare  with  the  four 
cases  given  in  the  table  on  p.  16  the  list  of  remains  from 
the  Bronze  Age  settlements  of  Morges,  Nidau,  Estavayer, 
Cortaillod,  and  Corcelettes,  and  the  two  Bronze  Age  finds 
of  Larnaud  and  Reallon.  The  manner  in  which  the 
collections  were  made  accounts,  probably,  for  the  absence 
of  whetstones,  and,  perhaps,  to  a  great  extent,  for  that  of 
the  flint  flakes,  etc.  On  these  points,  therefore,  1  lay 
little  stress  ;  but  the  total  absence  of  stone  axes  at 
Morges,  and  their  rarity  at  Nidau  and  Estavayer,  is  very 
remarkable.  At  the  former,  M.  Forel,  after  the  most 
careful  search,  has  found  but  one  object  of  iron.  The 
large  number  of  corn-crushers  and  the  presence  of 
spinning-weights  are  also  significant. 

Colonel  Schwab's  splendid  collection  from  Nidau  tells 
the  same  tale.  When  I  saw  it  he  had  only  33  stone 
axes,  and  yet  as  many  as  335  corn-crushers.  The  ruder 
articles  of  stone  he  had  not  apparently  collected.  He 
had  nearly  200  spindle-whorls,  and  many  earthenware 
rings,  specimens  of  which  have  also  been  found  at 
Morges,  but  which  are  entirely  wanting  at  the  Pont  de 
Thiele,  at  Wauwyl,  at  Moosseedorf,  and  at  Wangen. 

It  is,  of  course,  possible  that  very  different  states  of 
civilization  may  co- exist  in  different  parts  of  the  same 
country  ;  but  in  this  case  we  must  remember  that  the 
settlement  at  Nidau  is  only  about  fifteen  miles  from 
Moosseedorf.  Nor  can  we  suppose  that  the  differences 
were  merely  a  question  of  wealth  ;  the  bronze  fish-hooks, 
axes,  small  rings,  pins,  etc.,  which  are  found  in  such  large 
numbers,  show  that  bronze  was  used  not  for  the  articles 

2 


1 8  PREHISTORIC  TIMES 

of  luxury  only,  but  also  for  the  ordinary  implements  of 
daily  life. 

Nor  is  it  only  in  the  presence  or  absence  of  bronze 
that  the  lake-dwellings  differ  from  one  another  ;  there 
are  many  other  indications  of  progress.  We  cannot 
expect  to  find  much  evidence  of  this  in  the  implements 
of  bone  or  stone  ;  but,  as  has  already  been  mentioned, 
the  better  forms  of  stone  axe,  and  those  which  are  per- 
forated, are  very  rare,  if  not  altogether  absent,  in  the 
Stone  Age,  none  having  been  found  at  the  Pont  de 
Thiele,  at  Moosseedorf,  or  at  Wauwyl,  and  only  two  at 
Wangen. 

Again,  it  is  not  only  by  the  mere  presence  of  bronze, 
but  by  the  number,  beauty,  and  variety  of  the  articles 
made  out  of  it,  that  we  are  so  much  struck.  In  a  collec- 
tion of  objects  made  at  any  of  the  Stone  Age  settlements, 
no  one  can  fail  to  remark  the  uniformity  which  prevails. 
The  wants  of  the  artificers  seem  to  have  been  few  and 
simple.  In  the  Bronze  Age  all  this  is  altered.  We  find 
not  only  axes,  arrows,  and  knives,  but,  in  addition, 
swords,  lances,  sickles,  ear-rings,  bracelets,  pins,  rings, 
and  a  variety  of  other  articles.  The  list  on  page  1 6  gives 
an  idea  of  the  objects  found  in  some  of  the  Swiss  lake 
settlements,  whilst  the  number  of  bronze  objects  found 
in  the  lakes  of  Bienne  and  Neufchatel  alone  exceeds 
20,000.  As  regards  France,  M.  Chantre  gave  the 
following  numbers  : — Celts,  9153  ;  swords  and  daggers, 
727  ;  lances,  513  ;  knives,  342  ;  sickles,  225  ;  pins, 
1220  ;  needles,  204  ;  bracelets,  1086  ;  rings  and  chains, 
1572  ;  arrow-heads,  213  ;  hammers,  23  ;  anvils,  5  ; 
chisels,  58  ;  gouges,  31  ;  razors,  62  ;  saws,  8  ;  hooks, 
172  ;  moulds,  74  ;  and  a  variety  of  other  articles,  making 
altogether  no  less  than  20,000  objects,  since  which  time 
many  more  have  been  discovered.  The  bronze  objects, 
therefore,  evidently  cannot  be  regarded  as  mere  isolated 
and  exceptional  specimens,  but  represent  a  special  and 
somewhat  advanced  phase  of  civilization. 

The  pottery  also  shows  a  considerable  advance.  The 
potter's    wheel    indeed    seems    to     have    been    unknown 


ORIGIN   OF   BRONZE   WEAPONS  19 

during  both  the  Bronze  and  Stone  Ages,  but  the  material 
of  which  the  Stone  Age  pottery  is  composed  is  rough,^ 
containing  large  grains  of  quartz,  while  that  used  during 
the  Bronze  Age  is  more  carefully  prepared.  The  orna- 
ments of  the  two  periods  show  also  a  great  contrast.  In 
the  Stone  Age  they  consist  of  impressions  made  by  the 
nail  or  the  finger,  and  sometimes  by  a  cord  twisted  round 
the  soft  clay.  The  lines  are  all  straight,  or  if  curved  are 
very  irregular  and  badly  drawn.  In  the  Bronze  Age  all 
the  patterns  present  in  the  Stone  Age  are  continued,  but 
in  addition  we  find  circles  and  spirals  ;  while  imitations  of 
animals  and  plants  are  characteristic  of  the  Iron  Age. 

So  again  the  distinction  between  the  Bronze  and  Iron 
Ages  rests  by  no  means  merely  on  the  presence  of  iron. 
The  pottery  is  different,  the  forms  of  the  implements  and 
weapons  are  different,  the  ornamentation  is  different,  the 
knowledge  of  metallurgy  was  more  advanced,  silver  and 
lead  were  in  use,  letters  had  been  invented,  coins  had 
been  struck.  The  entire  absence  of  silver,  of  coins,  and 
of  inscriptions,  in  the  bronze  finds,  is  very  remarkable. 

This  class  of  evidence  is  by  no  means  confined  to  the 
Swiss  lake  discoveries.  In  various  parts  of  Europe  more 
or  less  extensive  deposits  of  bronze  implements  have 
been  found.  They  may  be  divided  into  two  principal 
classes — (i)  treasures,  which  were  hidden  away  by  their 
owners  and  never  recovered,  and  (2)  founders'  stocks. 
The  former  consist  of  implements,  weapons,  and  orna- 
ments, entire,  and  often  almost  new  ;  the  latter  principally 
of  worn  and  broken  objects,  often  with  lumps  of  rude 
metal.  In  the  table  given  on  page  16  I  have  given  two 
of  these  finds,  one  (Reallon)  a  treasure,  the  other  (Earnaud) 
a  founder's  stock.  These  finds  are  particularly  instructive, 
because  the  objects  contained  in  them  are  evidently  con- 
temporaneous. It  will  be  seen  from  the  lists  on  pp.  16, 
18,  25,  and  47   that  the  numbers  of  bronze  objects  are 

^  The  extreme  coarseness  of  the  Swiss  lake  pottery  is,  perhaps,  partly 
owing  to  its  having  been  intended  for  kitchen  purposes  ;  for  the  vessels 
found  in  tumuli  of  the  Stone  Age,  the  material  was  often  more  carefully 
prepared. 


20  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

very  considerable  ;  indeed,  for  France  and  Switzerland 
alone  they  amount  to  between  30,000  and  40,000,  and 
the  number  is  continually  increasing,^ 

The  value  of  this  evidence  will  be  better  appreciated 
after  reading  the  following  extract  from  Mr  Wright's 
Essays  on  Archaeology  :  ^ 

"All  the  sites  of  ruined  Roman  towns  with  which  I  am 
acquainted  present  to  the  excavator  a  numerous  collection 
of  objects,  ranging  through  a  period  which  ends  abruptly 
with  what  we  call  the  close  of  the  Roman  period,  and 
attended  with  circumstances  which  cannot  leave  any  doubt 
that  this  was  the  period  of  destruction.  Otherwise,  surely 
we  should  find  some  objects  which  would  remind  us  of 
the  subsequent  periods.  I  will  only  mention  one  class 
of  articles  which  are  generally  found  in  considerable 
numbers,  the  coins.  We  invariably  find  these  presenting 
a  more  or  less  complete  series  of  Roman  coins,  ending  at 
latest  with  the  emperors  who  reigned  in  the  first  half  of 
the  fifth  century.  This  is  not  the  case  with  Roman  towns 
which  have  continued  to  exist  after  that  period,  for  then, 
on  the  contrary,  we  find  relics  which  speak  of  the  subse- 
quent inhabitants,  early  Saxon  and  Mediaeval.  I  will  only, 
for  want  of  space,  give  one  example,  that  of  Richborough, 
in  Kent.  The  town  of  Rutupiae  seems  to  have  capitulated 
with  the  Saxon  invaders,  and  to  have  continued  until  its 
inhabitants,  in  consequence  of  the  retreat  of  the  sea, 
gradually  abandoned  it  to  establish  themselves  at  Sand- 
wich. Now  the  coins  found  at  Richborough  do  not  end 
with  those  of  the  Roman  emperors,  but  we  find,  first,  a 
great  quantity  of  those  singular  little  coins  which  are 
generally  known  by  the  name  minimi,  and  which,  pre- 
senting very  bad  imitations  of  the  Roman  coinage,  are 
considered  as  belonging  to  the  age  immediately  following 
the  Roman  period,  and  preceding  that  of  the  Saxon 
coinage." 

We  may  assume,  then,  on  the  authority  of  Mr  Wright 
himself,  that  if  all  the  bronze  arms  which  are  so  abundant 

*  Chantre,  Age  dii  Bronze^  vol.  ii.  p.  2715. 
^  Essays  on  Archceology,  p.  105. 


ORIGIN   OF   BRONZE   WEAPONS  21 

in  our  museums  were  really  of  Roman  origin,  many  of 
them  would  have  been  found  from  time  to  time  in  con- 
junction with  other  Roman  remains  ;  whereas  bronze 
weapons  are  never  found  in  association  with  coins,  pottery, 
or  other  relics  of  Roman  origin. 

Elsewhere,  indeed,  he  has  called  this  fact  in  question, 
but  in  spite  of  his  profound  acquaintance  with  archaeo- 
logical literature,  he  has  only  been  able  to  bring  forward 
three  cases  in  support  of  his  argument,  not  one  of  which 
appears  to  me  to  be  satisfactory. 

For  a  full  statement  of  his  views  I  must  refer  to  his 
"  Memoir  on  Bronze  Weapons,"  in  the  Transactions  of  the 
Ethnological  Society^  which,  in  conjunction  with  my 
brother  Frederic,  I  have  endeavoured  to  answer  before 
the  same  learned  body.^  I  will,  however,  refer  to  the 
only  three  cases  which  Mr  Wright  has  been  able  to 
discover. 

The  first  is  that  of  the  bronze  sword  figured  in  Stuart's 
Caledonia  Romana^  pi.  v.  "  This  sword,"  says  Mr 
Wright,  "  is  stated  to  have  been  found  at  the  Roman 
station  of  Ardoch,  in  Scotland,  on  the  wall  of  Antoninus, 
and  there  appears  no  reason  to  doubt  the  statement." 
In  truth,  however,  there  is  no  such  statement  ;  Mr 
Wright  has  been  misled  by  the  fact  that  the  sword  is 
figured  on  the  same  plate  with  some  Roman  remains 
from  Ardoch. 

The  second  case  quoted  by  Mr  Wright  is  that  of  a 
sword  described  by  Mongez  before  the  French  Institute, 
on  the  "i6th  Prairial,  An.  9,"  i.e.  5th  June  1801.  It 
is  stated  to  have  been  found  in  a  peat-moss  at  Heilly, 
near  Abbeville,  with  the  skeletons  of  a  man  and  a  horse, 
and  four  coins  of  the  Emperor  Caracalla.  "  This  sword, 
therefore,"  says  Mr  Wright,  "  was  that  of  a  Roman  cavalry 
soldier,  not  older,  and  perhaps  a  little  later,  than  this 
reign,  who  had  sunk  in  the  bog  to  which  this  turbary  had 
succeeded." 

Mongez,  on  the  contrary,  concluded  that  the  skeleton 

'   Transacfiofis  0/ the  Eihnohi^ical  Soc,  N.S.,  vol.  iv.  p.  176. 
'^  Ditto,  N.S.,  vol.  V.  p.  105. 


22  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

could  not  have  been  that  of  a  cavalry  soldier  at  all,  because 
a  cavalry  soldier  would  not  have  been  armed  with  a  short 
sword  ;  and  so  far  from  regarding  the  sword  as  Roman, 
"  On  ne  pourroit,"  he  says,  "  egalement  pas  Fattribuer 
aux  Romains,  si  Ton  ne  raisonnoit  que  d'apres  la  matiere 
dont  elle  est  faite."^  And  in  the  next  page  he  adds, 
"  We  are  therefore  certain,  that  after  the  second  Punic 
war  the  Roman  swords  were  made  of  iron."  ^ 

It  is  true  that  five  months  later  he  changed  his  mind, 
and  came  to  the  conclusion  that,  after  all,  the  bronze 
swords  were  Roman  ;  but  I  cannot  consider  that  much 
weight  should  be  attached  to  this  opinion,  which  was  in 
direct  opposition  to  that  which  he  entertained  a  few 
months  previously. 

Finally,  Mr  Wright  cites  an  instance  of  a  bronze 
sword  found  with  some  Roman  coins  of  Maxentius,  who 
reigned  from  306  to  312  a.d.  This  sword  was  dis- 
covered in  a  turbary  at  Piquigny,  near  Abbeville,  in  a 
large  boat,  which  it  would  seem  had  been  sunk,  and  in 
which  were  several  skeletons.  The  reason  for  referring 
this  bronze  sword  to  the  Roman  epoch  was  the  presence 
in  this  case,  as  in  the  last,  of  Roman  coins.  But  it  is 
somewhat  remarkable  that  the  antiquaries  who  recorded 
the  discovery  attributed  so  little  importance  to  the 
presence  of  these  coins  that  they  did  not  in  either  case 
take  the  trouble  to  specify  the  exact  position  which  these 
occupied  with  reference  to  the  bronze  weapons  ;  in  fact 
they  only  mention  the  coins  casually,  and  as  it  were  by 
an  afterthought,  in  a  footnote.  I  may  be  pardoned, 
then,  if  I  do  not  myself  look  upon  them  as  being  certainly 
of  the  same  date  as  the  weapons  near  which  they  are 
said  to  have  been  discovered.  But  even  if  it  be  admitted 
that  in  these  two  cases  bronze  weapons  were  actually 
discovered  near  some  Roman  coins,  still,  when  we  con- 
sider the  great  abundance  of  Roman  coins  on  the  one 
hand,  and  of  bronze  weapons  on  the  other,  we  cannot  be 

'  Loc.  cit.^  p.  193. 

-  "  Nous  \6\Vc\  done  certains  que  I'epee  des  Romains,  depuis  la  seconde 
guerre  Punique,  fut  fabriquee  en  fer,"  p.|i94- 


SUMMARY   OF   ARGUMENT  23 

surprised  that  there  should  be  one  or  two  cases  in  which 
they  have  been  found  associated  together. 

Again,  the  geographical  distribution  of  bronze  weapons 
and  implements  does  not  favour  such  a  theory.  The 
Romans  never  entered  Denmark  ;  it  is  doubtful  whether 
they  ever  landed  in  Ireland  ;  no  Roman  road,  masonry, 
or  earthwork  has  ever  been  found  there.  Yet  while 
more  than  350  bronze  swords  have  been  found  in 
Denmark,^  more  than  400  in  France,  and  a  very  large 
number  in  Ireland,^  the  Italian  museums  only  contain 
about  50.  Indeed,  the  rich  museums  at  Florence,  Rome, 
and  Naples  do  not  appear  to  possess  a  single  specimen  of 
those  typical,  leaf- shaped  bronze  swords,  which  are,  com- 
paratively speaking,  so  common  in  the  North.  That  the 
bronze  swords  should  have  been  introduced  into  Denmark 
by  a  people  who  never  occupied  that  country,  and  from 
a  part  of  Europe  in  which  they  are  very  rare,  is,  I  think, 
a  most  untenable  hypothesis.  I  may  add  that  no  swords 
or  celts  of  bronze  have  been  found  in  the  excavations  of 
Pompeii.^ 

Moreover,  the  use  of  the  word  "ferrum"  (iron)  as 
synonymous  with  a  sword,  clearly  proves  that  the  Roman 
swords  were  made  of  that  metal. 

I  have  already  mentioned  that  silver  and  lead  do  not 
occur  in  Bronze  Age  finds,  that  coins  and  letters  are 
equally  absent,  and  that  the  ornamentation  of  the  Bronze 
Age,  though  sometimes  very  beautiful,  is  not  of  a  Roman 
character. 

Lastly,  the  bronze  which  was  so  largely  used  by  the 
Romans  for  ornaments,  etc.,  was  composed  partly  of  lead, 
whereas  that  of  the  Bronze  Age  consists  of  copper  and 
tin    only.     Other    metals,    indeed,    such    as    iron,   silver, 

'  If  daggers  are  included  the  number  would  reach  nearly  1200,  and  480 
for  Sweden. — Chantre,  Age  du  Bronze^  vol.  i.  p.  1 34. 

^  The  Museum  at  Dublin  contains  282  swords  and  daggers ;  the 
number  of  swords  is  not  stated  separately. 

2  This  statement  has  been  questioned  by  Mr  Wright,  who  pointed  out 
that  two  bronze  celts  in  the  museum  at  Naples  have  been  figured  and 
described  as  coming  from  Pompeii.  During  a  visit  to  Naples,  I  looked 
out  these  celts,  and  found  that  they  did  not  come  from  Pompeii,  but  from 
an  ancient  tomb  in  Magna  Graecia. 


24  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

nickel,  and  lead  itself,  are  present  ;  but  in  small  quantities, 
not  having  been  purposely  introduced,  but  only  occurring 
as  impurities. 

In  Plutarch's  Essay  On  the  Pythian  Responses^  Philinus 
describes  certain  ancient  bronze  statues  which  were  of  a 
peculiar  colour,  and  says  :  Was  "  there  then  some  mode 
of  alloying  and  preparing  the  bronze  used  by  the  ancient 
artificers,  like  the  traditional  tempering  of  swords,  which 
process  being  lost,  bronze  obtained  exemption  from  war- 
like employment "  ?  ^ 

The  reasons,  then,  which  satisfy  me  that  our  bronze 
weapons  cannot  be  referred  to  Roman  times,  may  be 
summed   up  as  follows  : — 

Firstly.  They  have  never  been  found  in  company  with 
Roman  pottery,  or  other  remains  of  the  Roman  period. 

Secondly.  They  are  very  abundant  in  some  countries, 
as,  for  instance,  in  Denmark  and  Ireland,  which  were 
never  invaded  by  Roman  armies. 

Thirdly.  The  bronze  swords  do  not  resemble  in  form 
those  used  by  Roman  soldiers. 

Fourthly.  The  Latin  word  "  ferrum "  was  used  as 
synonymous  with  a  sword,  showing  that  the  Romans 
always  used  iron. 

Fifthly.  The  ornamentation  is  not  Roman  in  its 
character. 

Sixthly.  The  bronze  used  by  the  Romans  contained, 
generally,  a  large  proportion  of  lead,  which  is  never  the 
case  in  that  of  the  Bronze  Age. 

Nor  is  there  any  subsequent  period  to  which  we  can 
refer  the  weapons  and  implements  of  bronze.  Great 
numbers  of  Saxon  interments  have  been  examined  both 
in  this  country  and  on  the  Continent,  and  we  know  that 
the  swords,  lances,  knives,  and  other  weapons  of  that 
time  were  all  of  iron.  Besides  this,  if  the  bronze  im- 
plements and  weapons  had  belonged  to  post-Roman  times, 
we  should  certainly,  I  think,  have  found  some  of  them 
in  the  ruined  towns,  and  with  the  pottery  and  coins  of 
that  period.  Moreover,  the  similarity  to  each  other  of 
1  Plutarch,  On  the  Pythian  Responses. 


HALLSTADT 


25 


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Objects. 

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105 
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Other 
Objects. 

r-l                    .* 

Weapons. 

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Bronze, 

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179 
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■j,avisnvH 


26 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


the  weapons  found  in  very  distant  parts  of  Europe, 
implies  more  extended  intercourse  between  different 
countries  than  any  which  existed  in  those  centuries.  On 
the  whole,  then,  the  evidence  is  conclusive  that  the  use 
of  bronze  weapons  characterizes  a  particular  phase  in  the 
history  of  European  civilization,  and  one  which  was 
anterior  to  the  discovery  of  iron,  or  at  any  rate,  to  the 
general  use  of  that  metal  for  cutting  purposes. 

Evidently,  however,  the   transition    from    the    use   of 

bronze  weapons  to 
those  of  iron  must 
have  been  gradual, 
and  there  must  have 
been  a  time  when 
the  two  were  in 
use  together.  M. 
Ramsauer,for  many 
years  director  of  the 
salt-mines  at  Hall- 
stadt,  near  Salzburg, 
in  Austria,  has  dis- 
covered an  exten- 
sive cemetery  be- 
longing to  this 
transitional  period. 
He  has  opened  no 
less  than  9 80 graves, 
evidently  of  those  who  even  at  that  early  period  worked 
the  salt-mines  which  are  still  so  celebrated.  The  objects 
discovered  are  described  and  figured  in  an  album,  which 
has  unfortunately  never  been  published,  but  of  which  Sir 
John  Evans  and  I  secured  a  copy.  The  foregoing  table 
will  sufficiently  prove  the  importance  of  the  discovery. 

That  the  period  to  which  these  graves  belonged  was 
that  of  the  transition  between  the  Bronze  and  Iron  Ages, 
is  evident  ;  both  because  we  find  cutting  instruments  of 
iron  as  well  as  of  bronze,  and  also  because  both  are  of 
somewhat  unusual,  and  we  may  almost  say  of  intermediate 
types.     The  same  remark  applies  to  the  ornamentation. 


iBlliii**"^ 


Fig.  4. — Copper  (?)  celt  from 
Waterford — 6  inches  long, 
3f  wide  at  the  broader 
end,  and  i|  at  the  smaller, 
which  is  about  i-i6th 
thick. 


Fig.  5. — Winged 
celt,  or  Paal- 
stave,  from  Ire- 
land. 


HALLSTADT 


27 


Animals  are  frequently  represented,  but  are  very  poorly 
executed,  while  the  geometrical  patterns  are  well  drawn. 
Coins  are  entirely  absent.  That  the  transition  was  from 
bronze  to  iron,  and  not  from  iron  to  bronze,  is  clear  ; 
because  here,  as  elsewhere,  while  iron  instruments  with 
bronze  handles  are  common,  there  is  not  a  single  case  of 
a  bronze  blade  with  an  iron  handle.  This  shows  that, 
when  both  metals  were  in  use,  the  iron  was  preferred  for 
blades.  Another  interesting  point  in  the  Hallstadt 
bronze,  as  in  that  of  the  true  Bronze 
Age,  is  the  absence  of  silver,  lead,  and 
zinc  (excepting,  of  course,  as  mere  im- 
purities in  the  bronze).  This  is  the  more 
significant,  inasmuch  as  the  presence,  not 
only  of  the  tin  itself,  but  also  of  glass, 
amber,  and  ivory,  indicates  the  existence 
of  an  extensive  commerce. 

Moreover,  as  Morlot  well  pointed  out, 
the  absence  of  silver  cannot  be  accidental, 
because  the  bronze  of  Hallstadt  contains 
no  lead,  and  the  absence  of  lead  en- 
tails that  of  silver,  since  the  latter  could 
not,  at  least  in  Europe,  be  obtained  without  the  former.^ 

In  the  fifty  years  which  have  elapsed  since  this  chapter 
was  written  much  more  evidence  has  accumulated,  and 
archaeologists  are  now  agreed  that  the  use  of  iron  was 
preceded  by  that  of  bronze,  and  that  iron  dates  back  to 
a  very  early  period,  which  in  Egypt,  Assyria,  and  the 
South  of  Europe  may  be  estimated  as  at  least  1500  b.c. 
In  our  own  country  I  estimate  the  introduction  of  iron 
as  having  occurred  about  1000  r.c. 

'  For  further  information  on  the  subject  of  this  chapter  I  may  refer  to 
Sir  John  Evans'  admirable  Ancient  Bronze  Iviplenienis  of  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland^  which  has  appeared  since  the  4th  edition  of  this  work  ;  to 
Sir  C.  H.  Read's  British  Museion  Caialoone^  'Jlie  Bronze  Age  ;  and  to 
various  works  by  Montelius. 


Fig.  6.  —  Socketed 
celt  from  Ireland, 
one  -  third  of  the 
actual  size. 


CHAPTER  II 

ON    THE    USE    OF    BRONZE    IN    ANCIENT    TIMES 

The  commonest  and,  perhaps,  most  characteristic  objects 
belonging  to  the  Bronze  Age  are  the  so-called  "  celts  " 
(figs,  4-18),  which  were  probably  used  for  chisels,  hoes, 
war-axes,  and  a  variety  of  other  purposes.     Implements 


Figs.  7,  8,  9, — The  three  principal  types  of  celts,  and  the  manner  in  which  they 
are  supposed  to  have  been  handled. 

similar,  though  not  identical,  and  made  of  iron  instead  of 
bronze,  are  even  now  employed  in  Siberia  (fig.  10)  and 
some  parts  of  Africa,^  The  French  Museums  contain 
more  than  10,000  bronze  celts.  More  than  2000  are 
known  to  exist  in  the  difTperent  Irish  collections,  of  which 
the  great  Museum  belonging  to  the  Royal  Irish  Academy 
at  Dublin  contained  in  the  year  i860  no  less  than  688,^ 

1  Klemm's    Culturgeschichte   der  Menscken,    vol.    ill.    p.    160.     HorcF 
Ferales,  p.  77. 

2  In  the  Museum  at  Edinburgh  are  more  than  100,  at  Copenhagen  350. 

28 


BRONZE   CELTS 


29 


Fig.  10. — Kalmuck 
Axe;  iron.  In  the 
collection  of  the 
late  Dr  Klemm. 


Fig.  II.— Copper  (?) 
celt  from  Ireland, 
one  -  half  of  the 
actual  size. 


no  two  of  which  were  cast  in  the  same  mould.  They 
vary  in  size  from  an 
inch  to  a  foot  in  length, 
and  may  be  divided 
into  three  principal 
classes  (figs.  7-9)  ac- 
cording to  the  manner 
in  which  they  were 
handled  ;  though  we 
must  remember  that 
there  were  many  inter- 
mediate forms.  The 
first  class   (figs.   4,   7, 

II,I3>  14,  \5y  175  and 

18)  is  the  simplest  in 

form,  and  evidently  the 

oldest,  being  "  formed 

on  the  type  of  the  old 

stone  celts."  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  these  simple 
celts  were  handled  in  the  manner  indi- 
cated (fig.  7).  Fig.  19  represents  a 
modern  African  axe  in  my  collection. 
Here,  indeed,  the  blade  is  of  iron. 

Evidently,  however,  in  such  an  axe 
the  blade  would  tend  to  split  the  handle 
in  which  it  was  placed.  To  remedy 
this  defect,  a  stop,  or  ridge,  was  raised 
across  the  celt,  and  the  metal  and  wood 
were  made  to  fit  into  one  another 
(figs.  5,  8,  and  20).  This  second 
form  of  celt  is  known  as  a  Paalstab, 
or  Paalstave,  and  has  often  a  small 
loop  on  one  side  (which  was  probably 
used  to  attach  the  celt  to  the  handle 
by  a  cord,  as  indicated  in  fig.  8),  and  a 
adjusted  by  the  other    ^i,-,„  qj-j  gj^^h  sidc.     A  Still  further  im- 

half.  o  •  1    /r  /-  ^\    • 

provement  consisted  (ngs.  6,  9,  16)  in 
reversing  the  position  of  the  metal  and  the  handle,  making 
the  axe  hollow  at  one  end,  and  so  passing  the  handle  into  it. 


Fig.  12.— Half  of  a  celt 
mould  from  Ireland. 
It  is  of  mica  slate,  6| 
inches  long,  4  wide, 
and  presents  upon  the 
surface  the  apertures  by 
means  of  which  it  was 


30 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


Bronze  celts  are  generally  plain,  but  often  ornamented 
with  ridges,  dots,  or  lines,  as  in  figs.  6,  9,   13,   15,    16, 

and  20.  That  they  were  made  in 
the  countries  where  they  are  found 
is  proved  by  the  presence  of  moulds 
(fig.  12).  It  is  difficult  to  under- 
stand why  the  celt-makers  never 
cast  their  axes  as  we  do  ours,  with 
a  transverse  hole,  through  which 
the  handle  might  pass.  No  bronze 
implement  of  this  description  has, 
however,  so  far  as  I  know,  been 
yet  found  in  Great  Britain,  though 
a  few  have  occurred  in  Denmark, 
where  they  are  of  great  beauty  and 
highly  decorated. 

The  development  of  the  beauti- 
ful leaf-shaped  spears  is  also  very 
interesting,  and  has 
been  well  described 
by  Rev.  W.  Green- 
well  and  Mr  Brewis.^ 
They  are  derived 
from  the  small  and 
rather  weak  knife  (commonly  called  a  knife- 
dagger),  so  frequently  found  associated  with 
early  burials.  This  eventually  passed  into 
the  true  dagger,  which  was  the  immediate 
parent  of  the  spear-head,  the  rapier,  and 
the  sword.  The  base  of  the  dagger  blade 
was  first  narrowed,  and  a  flat  tang  with 
a  peg  hole  at  its  termination  was  added 
to  it,  for  the  purpose  of  fixing  it  to  the 
shaft.  This  tanged  blade  constitutes  the 
first  true  spear-head  of  metal.  The  next  change  was  the 
addition  of  a  loose  ferrule,  which  enclosed  the  wood 
through  which  the  tang  was  carried.  The  object  of  this 
was  to  prevent  the  wood   splitting   and   the   head  being 

'  Archceologia,  vol.  Ixi.,  1909. 


Fig.  13. — Decorated  celt  from 
Ireland — 8^  inches  long,  4 
wide  at  the  blade  end,  and 
half  an  inch  thick. 


Fig.  14. — Simple 
celt  from  Den- 
mark, one-third 
of  the  actual 
size. 


BRONZE   CELTS 


3^ 


torn  from  the  shaft.     The  head  was  then  improved  still 

further  by  the  omission  of  the 

tang,  and  by  the  amalgamation 

of  the  ferrule  with  the  blade. 
This,  however, 
did  not  materi- 
ally alter  the  ap- 
pearance of  the 
head,  though  it 
added  much  to 
the    firmness    of 

_       ^     _    ,  ^  ,    the    hold    which 

Fig.  1 6. — Socketed       ,  ^ 

celt    from     Den-     the   tWO   parts    ot 

mark,  one-third  of   the  spear  had  on 

the  actual  size.  '^ 

each  other.  A 
head  was  thus  produced  which 
was  provided  with  a  socket, 
though  at  that  time  the  cavity 

was  not  carried 

up      into      the 

blade.      These 

apparent      rivet      Fjg   i5._0rnamental   celt   from 
heads  are  simu-  Denmark,     one-third     of    the 

,  ,  ,  actual  size, 

lated,    as    also 

the  junction  of  the  blade  socket.  The 
next  step  was  the  extension  of 
the  socket  up  into  the  blade. 

The  wings  undergo  many  sig- 
nificant and  interesting  changes. 
At  first  the  outline  of  the  base 
of  the  wings,  where  it  emerges 
from  the  socket,  retains  the  old 
concave  form,  which  is  a  sur- 
vival of  the  period  when  the 
edge  stopped  at  the  simulated 
junction  of  the  blade  and  ferrule. 
This  is  illustrated  in  fig.  21,  re- 
presenting a  specimen  from  the  Arreton  Down  hoard. 
The  rivets  which    originally  fastened   on    the  sheath  are 


Fig.  17. — Brcjiize  celt,  in  the 
Museum,  Bergen. 


32 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


indicated  by  knobs,  which  are  of  course  mere  survivals 
and  of  no  use. 

The  next  improvement  was  the  addition  of  a  pair  of 
loops,  by  which  the  blade  was  still  more  firmly  fastened 
to  the  shaft,  as  in  fig.  22,  which  represents  a  specimen 


Fig.  18. — Bronze  celt,  in  the  Museum, 
Bergen. 


Fig.  19. —Modern  African  axe.     In 
my  collection,  one-sixth  natural  size. 


from  Rostrevor  Down.  The  loops  are  some  way  down 
the  shaft. 

Gradually,  however,  they  move  up  to  the  base  of  the 
wings,  as  in  fig.  23  from  Bush  Mills.  Finally,  they  are 
included  in  the  sloping  outline  of  the  blade  (fig.  24  from 
Dowris  Hoard),  into  which  also  the  shaft  is  carried. 

The  thongs  attached  to  the  loops  were  then  found  to 
be  unnecessary  and  somewhat  inconvenient. 


BRONZE   SPEARS 


33 


The  longer  shaft  rendered  them  less  necessary,  and  they 
were  replaced  by  a  peg  much  reduced  in  size,  so  as  to  be 
practically  useless,  then  simulated,  and  finally  disappeared. 

The  angular  break  in  the  flow  of   the  outline  of  the 


Fig.  20. — Bronze  celt  from 
Sweden.     After  Montelius. 


ViG.  21. 


-Spear- head  from  Arreton 
Down. 


wings,  the  upper  part  of  the  blade  alone  being  provided 
with  a  sharp  edge,  is  due  to  the  fact  that  in  the  earlier 
examples  the  edge  stopped  at  the  simulated  junction  of 
the  blade  and  socket. 

This  form  is  almost  confined  to  the  United  Kingdom, 
though  a  few  have  been  found  at  Mycenae,  in  Hungary, 

3 


34 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


and  elsewhere  in  Europe,  though 
our  specimens  are  perhaps  the  most 
beautifully    proportioned,    and    grace- 


Fk;.  22. — Spear-head 
from  Roslrevor  Down. 


fully  though  simply  decorated.  The 
loops  are  replaced  by  lunate  openings, 
mainly  for  ornament,  though  they 
served  also  to  lighten  the  spear  without 
seriously  reducing  the  strength. 


Fig.  24. 


BRONZE   SWORDS 


35 


m 


It  is,  unfortunately,  impossible  to  date  the  specimens, 
or  the  changes,  but  the  gradual 
development,  the  obvious  ad- 
vantages gained,  and  the  simu- 
lation of  old  forms,  leave 
scarcely  any  room  for  doubt 
as  to  the  sequence  through 
which  the  beautiful  leaf-shaped 
spear-head  has  been  evolved. 

The  swords  of  the  Bronze 
Age  (figs.  26-33  ^)  ^^^  more 
or  less  leaf -like  in  shape, 
double-edged,  sharp-pointed, 
and  intended  for  stabbing  and 
thrusting  rather  than  for  cut- 
ting. This  is  evident,  not 
only  from  the  general  shape, 
but  also  from  the  condition  of 
the  edges.  They  never  have 
any  hand-guards  :  the  handles 
are  sometimes  solid  (figs.  29- 
36)  ;  this  is  generally  the  case 
with  those  found  in  Den- 
mark :  sometimes  (figs.  26- 
28)  flat,  thin,  and  evidently 
intended  to  be  plated  with 
wood  or  bone  :  while  some- 
times the  sword  expands  at 
its  base,  and  is  fastened  to  a 
handle  by  from  two  to  four 
rivets.  Swords  of  this  class 
are  generally  shorter  than  the 
others,  and  indeed  we  find 
every  intermediate  form  be- 
tween the  true  sword  and  the 
dagger  (figs.  37,  38,  39)  ; 
of  the  two  classes  together,  the  Dublin  Museum  contains 

'   In  fig.  25  an  ancient  iron  sword  is  represented,  in  order  to  show  the 
difference  in  form. 


Fk;.  25. — Iron 
sword  from  a 
cemetery  at 
Brighthamp- 
ton  in  Ox- 
ford s  h  i  r  e, 
one-eighth  of 
the  actual 
size. 


Fic.  26. — Sword 
from  Ireland — 
23?,incheslong, 
r^  wide  in  the 
centre  of  the 
blade,  which  is 
margined  by  a 
grooved  feather 
edge. 


36 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


nearly  300.  The  handles  of  the  bronze 
swords  are  very  short,  a  char- 
acteristic much  relied  on  by 
those  who  attribute  the  in- 
troduction of  bronze  into 
Europe  to  a  people  of  Asiatic 
origin,  but  is  probably  due 
to  the  manner  in  which  they 
were  held.  The  Museums 
of  Denmark  contain  more 
than  1000  bronze  swords, 
that  of  Stockholm,  includ- 
ing daggers,  over  500.  At 
Mycenas  150  swords  were 
found,  all  of  bronze. 

Bronze  arrows  are  not  very 
common  in  Northern  Europe, 
probably  because  flint  was  so 
much  cheaper,  and  almost  as 
effective. 

More  than  a  hundred 
bronze  fish-hooks  have  been 
found  at  Nidau  in  the  Lake 
of  Bienne,  but  elsewhere 
they  appear  to  be  rare  ;  the 
Museum  at  Dublin  contains 
only  one.  Sickles  are  more 
numerous  ;  at  Copenhagen 
there  are  25,  at  Dublin  11  ; 
in  the  lake-village  at  Morges 
1 1  have  been  found,  at  Nidau 
1 8 ;  they  are  generally  about  6 
inches  in  length,  flat  on  one 
side,  and  raised  on  the  other  ; 
they  were  always  intended  to 
be  held  in  the  right  hand. 
Vir..  27.— Sword        Bronzc  knives  (fi^s.  40-44") 

Irom     bweden,  i       r  j    •  ^^'  .. 

one -fourth    of    are  frequently  round  in  tumuli,  and  among 
the  remains  of  the  Swiss  lake  habitations  ; 


Vie.  28. — Sword 
from  Switzer- 
land, one-fifth 
of  the  actual 
size.  In  the 
museum  of  Col. 
Sclnval). 


the  actual  size. 


BRONZE   KNIVES 


37 


Fig.  29. — Swurd  from 
Conciseon  the  Lake 
of  Neufchatel,  ^  of 
the  actual  size.  In 
the  museum  of  Col. 
Schwab. 


20,    for     instance,    at     Merges,    26    at 

Estavayer,  and  about  100  at  Nidau  ;  in 

Ireland    they  appear    to    be    very  rare  ; 

the  Dublin   Museum  does 

not    contain    one.       They 

were    generally   fitted    into 

handles  of   bone,  horn,  or 

wood,  and   the    blade   was 

almost     always     more     or 

less  curved  ;  those  of  iron 

knives,    on     the     contrary, 

being  generally  straight. 

Fig.  48  represents  a 
bronze  knife  figured  in 
Lee's  translation  of  Keller, 
page  276,^  and  said  to  have 
been  found  at  Thebes  by 
Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson. 
The  type,  however,  is  not 
Egyptian.  It  is  just  pos- 
sible that  the  knife  may 
have  been  carried  to  that 
country  in  ancient  times, 
but  it  seems  more  probable 
that  there  is  an  error  as  to 
the  locality. 

The  small  bronze  razor- 
knives  (figs.  45,  46),  indeed, 
have  straight  edges,  but  they 
are  quite  of  a  different  char- 
acter from  the  iron  knives  ; 
from  the  ornaments  en- 
graved on  them,  I  am  dis- 
posed to  regard  them  as 
belonging  to  a  late  period  in  the 
of  Bronze,  if  not  in  some  cases  to  the 


Fig.  30. — Sword 
from  Scandi- 
navia. 


Age 


'  See  also  for  Egyptian  bronze  implements  and 
weapons,  Mr  A.  Arcelin's  paper  in  the  Maftr.  p. 
ser.  a  PHist.  Pritn.  de  rHotnme^  1869,  p.  376. 


38 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


beginning 


Fig.  31. — Sword 
from  Denmark, 
found  in  the 
Treenhoi  tu- 
mulus. 


of  that  of  Iron.  Indeed,  the  Flensborg 
Museum  contains  a  razor- 
knife,  said  to  have  been 
found  together  with  objects 
of  the  latter  metal.  A  some- 
what similar  pattern  occurs 
on  the  knife  fig.  42,  which, 
from  the  human  figure  form- 
ing the  handle,  I  should  also 
refer  to  the  Iron 
Age. 

Ornaments 
of  bronze  do 
not,  like  the 
weapons  of  that 
metal,  charac- 
terize a  definite 
period,  but  may- 
belong  to  any 
age.  Some 
forms  have 
maintained 
themselves  al- 
m  o  s  t  un- 
changed for 
ages.  The 
"  safety  -  pin," 
for  instance, 
was  invented 
in  the  Bronze 
Age.  Before, 
therefore,  we 
refer  any  par- 
ticular orna- 
ment to  this 
period,  we  must 
know  the  cir- 
The   following 


Fig.  32. 
sword, 
holm. 


-Bronze 
Stock- 


FiG.  33. — Sword 
from  Denmark, 
one-sixth  of  the 
actual  size. 


cumstances    under  which   it  was   found. 

illustrations    are,    however,    principally    from    the    Swiss 


BRONZE   ORNAMENTS 


39 


lake-villages,  and  may  be  regarded  as  belonging  to  the 
Bronze  Age. 

The  personal  ornaments  which  may, 
I    think,    safely    be    referred    to    the 
Bronze    Age,     consist     principally    of 
bracelets  (figs.  49,  50),  pins  (figs.   51— 
54),    and    rings.       The    bracelets    are 
either    simple    spirals,    or    rings    open 
at   one   side,  and    decorated   by   those 
combinations    of    straight    and   curved 
lines  so  characteristic   of    the    Bronze  ^'^^'^Zj^Zt 
Age.     Like  the  weapons,  they  gener-      fourth  of  the  actual 
ally  indicate  small  hands,  but,  like  the      ^"'^' 
bronze   ornaments    of  various    existing   savages — for  in- 
stance, of  many  Negro  tribes,  of  the  Khonds  in  Orissa, 

etc.  —  they      are 

often      extremely 

heavy. 

Bronze  pins  are 

very     abundant  : 

for  instance,  239 

from     Estavayer, 

^  ,,  600  from  Nidau, 

v^_.'-^  and     more     than 

Fig.  35.— Hilt  of  sword  60OO  from  the 
from  Denmark,  one-  ^-^q  lakcS  of 
fourth    of    the    actual        .  i    -vt       r 

size.  Bienne  and  Neut- 

chatel.^  Theyare 
also  very  frequently  found  in  graves, 
where  they  were  used,  as  pointed 
out  by  Sir  R.  C.  Hoare,  to  secure 
the  linen  cloth  which  enveloped 
the  bones.  Although  brooches  of 
bronze  are  very  common,  they  have 
generally  been  found  in  conjunction 
with  iron,  and  during  the  Bronze 
Age  their  place  seems  to  have  been  generally  filled  by 
mere    pins.      Many  of   the   latter   articles    found    in    the 

*  See  Appendix. 


Flc.  36.— Hill  of  bronze 
sword,  Museum,  Bertjen. 


40 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


Swiss  lakes  appear,  however,  to  have  been  hairpins.  Some 
of  them  are  nearly  a  foot  in  length, 
and  two  found  near  Berne  even  as 
much  as  2  ft.  9  in.  Many  of  the 
pins  have  large  hollow  spherical 
heads,  as  in  figs.  51,  52  ;  the  others 
vary  so  much  that  it  is  impossible 
to  give  any  general  description  of 
them.  There 
can  be  little  doubt 
that  these  pins 
really  belong  to 
the  Bronze  Age  ; 
but  the  fact  that 
similar  ones  con- 
tinued in  use 
long  after  the 
introduction  of 
iron  is  equally 
well  established. 
One  of  these  later 
bronze  pins  is  re- 
presented in  fig. 
194.  Some  other 
small  objects    of 

inches   long   by    2^  wide.  ,  ^     A 

The   four  rivets  l)y  which  Dronze,  inClUQ- 

it  is  fastened  to  the  handle  \i\cr    tWO  nCcdleS 

are  still  /ti  silii.  <-    ^        , ,  r     i  r 

rrom  the  Take  or 
Neufchatel,  are  represented  in  figs. 
55-60.  Bronze  hammers  are  very 
rare  :  it  is  probable  that  stones  were 
used  for  this  purpose.  Gouges  are 
more  common.  Small  saws  have  been 
discovered  in  Germany  and  Denmark, 
but  not,  as  yet,  in  Great  Britain. 
Studs  or  buttons,  though  not  very 
abundant,  are  found  both  in  Switzerland  and  Scandinavia.^ 

'  Further  information  as  to  tlie  objects  of  bronze  from  Switzerland  will 
be  found  in  the  chapter  on  Swiss  lake  habitations. 


Fig.     37.  —Bronze     dagger 
blade    from    Ireland — 103 


Fk;.  38. — Bronze  dagger 
from  Ireland,  two-thirds 
of  the  actual  size. 


BRONZE   ORNAMENTS 


41 


Fig.  39. —  Bronze  dagger- 
Ijlade  from  Ireland,  J 
of  the  actual  size. 


Brooches  were  very  rare  in  Western  Europe,  if,  indeed, 
they  had  been  invented,  during  the  Bronze  Age.  No 
English  specimens  have  been  dis- 
covered which  can  with  certainty  be 
referred  to  this  period.  Almost  the 
same  may  be  said  as  regards  the  Swiss 
Bronze  Age  lake-villages.  They  are 
said,  on  the  contrary,  to  be  common 
in  Sweden.  The  earliest  form  re- 
sembled what  is  now  known  as  a 
safety-pin.  Silver,  lead,^  and  zinc 
appear  to  have  been 
unknown,  or  very  rare, 
during  the  Bronze  Age. 
Glass  beads  were  in 
use,  but  no  vessels  of 
glass  have  yet  been  dis- 
covered ;  in  the  same 
manner  there  are  barbarous  tribes  now 
which  are  well  supplied  with  European 
beads,  but  which  possess  no  glass  vessels. 

The  weapons  and  ornaments  of  the 
Bronze  Age  are  all  cast,  and  show  con- 
siderable skill  in  metallurgy."  Three 
modes  of  casting  were  employed.  One 
was  that  in  a  mould,  either  of  stone  or 
metal.  Of  course  in  this  case  the  mould 
was  necessarily  in  two  halves,  and  the 
line  of  junction  was  generally  visible,  as 
in  fig.  6r,  representing  a  celt,  which  has 
evidently  been  cast  in  this  manner.  This 
specimen  was  found  in  Kent,  and  presented 
to  me  by  Sir  George  Dasent.  It  is  clear, 
however,  that  such  an  object  as  the  knife  in  fig,  43 
could  not  have  been  cast  in  this  manner.     Neither  were 

^  Lead,  however,  is  mentioned  in  tlie  inscriptions  of  Karnak.  See 
Lepsius,  Les  inciaux  dans  h's  his.  J\t4'y/>t,  p.  58. 

^  See  Morlots  interesting  memoir  :  St/r  le  passai^e  dc  I'^ij^'f  de  la  Pierre 
a  r Age  dii  Bronze  et  siir  les  metaiix  employes  dans  P Age  dii  Bronze. 
Copenhague,  1866. 


Fig.  40.  —  Bronze 
knife  from  Den- 
mark, one-half 
of  the  actual  size. 


42 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


the  pins  figs.  51-54,  for  if  they  had  been,  the  line  of 
junction  between  the  two  halves  of  the  mould  must  have 
been  traceable. 

Indeed,  this  mode  of  casting  was  evidently  unusual. 
This  is  proved  by  the  condition  of  the  objects,  by  the 
scarcity  of  moulds,  and  also  by  the  fact  that  we  seldom 
find  any  two  bronze  objects  exactly  similar  to  one  another. 

Thus,  out  of  the  688  speci- 
mens in  the  Dublin  Museum, 
no  two  were  cast  in  the  same 
mould,  clearly  showing  that  the 
moulds  were  not  permanent. 

The  second  mode  of  casting 
was  by  making  a  model  of  the 
object  in  wood  or  some  other 
hard  substance,  and  pressing  it 
on  fine  sand,  so  as  to  obtain 
a  corresponding  hollow.  The 
sand  must  of  course  have  been 
contained  in  two  boxes  or 
frames,  fitting  like  the  solid 
moulds  one  on  the  other.  Ob- 
jects cast  in  this  manner  would 
'''■•*  therefore   also    show    the    line 

of  junction.      The  advantage 

Figs.  41,  42.-Bronze  knives  from      ^f     this     method    is    that     Sand 

Denmark,  one-third  of  the  actual    Can  easily  be  worked  into  the 
^'^'^'  required    form,    and    wooden 

models  were  much  more  easily  made  than  hollow  moulds, 
either  of  stone  or  metal.  Like  the  former,  however, 
this  method  was  applicable  to  very  simple  castings  only. 
Specimens  in  which  the  line  of  junction  is  not  exactly 
central,  or  symmetrical,  were  probably  cast  in  this  manner, 
the  model  having  been  pressed  into  the  one  mould  rather 
more  deeply  than  into  the  other. 

The  third  method  of  casting  was  with  wax  or  wood. 
In  this  case,  as  in  the  former,  a  model  was  made  and 
enclosed  in  prepared  earth,  made  of  some  clayey  soil 
mixed  probably  with  cow-dung,  or  some  other  inflammable 


METALLURGY   OF   BRONZE   AGE 


43 


substance,  in  order  that  when  subjected  to  heat  it  might 
become  porous.  The  frame  was  then  heated  until  the  wax 
or  wood  disappeared.  This 
mode  of  casting  required  fewer 
instruments,  and  did  not,  like 
the  other  two  methods,  in- 
volve a  line  of  junction,  which 
was  a  great  advantage,  because 
in  the  absence  of  steel  the 
projecting  ridge  thus  produced 
was  very  difficult  to  remove, 
especially  when  the  objects  were 
ornamented.  In  one  case  M. 
Morlot  observed  on  an  object 
of  bronze  the  mark  of  a  finger, 
evidently  resulting  from  an 
impression  on  the  soft  wax. 
Occasionally,  again,  when    the 

wax   was   heated 

carelessly,       it 

burned   and   left 

a  carbonized  film, 

which   of  course 

produced  a  cor- 
responding mark 

on      the     object 

cast.       The    use 

of    wax    in    this 

manner 


thou(2:h 


Figs.  43,  44. — Jiroiize  knives  from 
the  lake-villap;e  of  Estavayer,  on 
the  Lake  of  Neufchatel,  one-half 
of  the  actual  size. 

presenting  many 

advantages,  does  not  appear  to  have  been 

frequent  in  Great  Britain. 

In  some  few  cases  the  interiors  of  bronze 

vessels  show  the  marks  of  the  spatula  with 

which  the  wax  was  worked. 

The   evidences  of    imperfect    metallurgical   knowledge 

and    appliances    are    also    very    interesting  ;    the    art    of 

soldering   appears  to   have  been   unknown.      M.   Morlot 

has   called   attention    to   a   striking  instance  of   this   pre- 


FiG.  45. — Razor- 
knife  from  Den- 
mark, one-half 
of  the  actual 
size. 


44 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


sented  by  one  of  the  large  Schwcrin   brooches  (fig.  62). 

This  was  evidently  a  chef  cfoduvre^  but  the  intermediate 

bow  connecting  the  two  great  discs  had  been  accidentally 
broken.  In  order  to  mend  it  again, 
the  two  pieces  were  put  into  their 
proper  relative  position,  and  the 
broken  bow  was  covered  with  a 
layer  of  wax.  The  whole  was  then 
surrounded  with  the  usual  prepara- 
tion of  clay,  etc. ;  the  wax  was  melted 
out  and  replaced 
with  bronze. 

Again,  besides 
the  orifice 
through  which 
the  bronze  was 
poured  into  the 
mould,  it  was 
necessary  to  leave 
one  or  more  holes 
through  which 
the  air  might 
escape.  The 
first,  being  fun- 
nel-shaped,   was    easily   removed,   but 

the  latter  were  frequently  beaten  over, 

as  is  seen  at  the   top    of   fig.   63,  for 

without  steel  it  was  almost  impossible 

to  cut  them  off.      Indeed,  the  smiths 

of    the    Bronze    Age    seem    to    have 

been  unable  to  pierce  bronze,  and  the 

holes    for    rivets,    as    in    the    swords,    ^^^'^-  47.— Bronze  knife, 

J  .  ,  actual  size,  Denmark. 

etc.,  are  cast,  and  not  pierced. 

Even  the  ornamentation  in  circles,  spirals,  etc.,  on  the 
bronze  objects  is  mostly  cast,  and  though  beautifully 
drawn,  was  evidently  done  with  the  free  hand  ;  compasses 
seem  therefore  to  have  been  unknown. 

In  some  cases,  however,  the  ornamentation  appears  to 
have  been  engraved  on  the  objects  themselves.      For  this 


Fig.  46. — Razor-knife  from 
Denmark,  one-half  of  the 
actual  size. 


METALLURGY   OF   BRONZE   AGE 


45 


purpose  short   instruments    were    used,    in    which    there 
was  a  much  larger  proportion  of  tin  than  usual.     Such 


Fig.  48. — Bronze  knife,  said  to  have  been  found  by  Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson, 
at  Thebes,  but  probably  European. 

implements  are  very  hard,  but  at  the  same  time  very- 
brittle,  and  therefore  not 
suited  for  ordinary  pur- 
poses. Instruments  of  this 
character,  though  rare,  have 
been  met  with  in  the  great 
bronze  find  at  Larnaud  and 
elsewhere. 

On  some  of  the  bronze 
vessels  the  ornamentation 
has  been  produced  by  ham- 
mering. This,  however, 
indicates  a  considerable  pro- 
gress in  metallurgy. 

Soldering  seems  to  have 
been  entirely  unknown  during  the  Bronze  Age,  and  even 

during  the  earlier  times  of  the  Iron 

o 

Age.  Thus  the  Hallstadt  bronze 
vessels,  when  broken,  were  always 
riveted  together. 

I  have  also  figured  a  group  (figs. 
64-67)  of  Irish  gold  ornaments. 
The  earlier  ones  probably  belong 
to    the    Bronze    Age  ;    a    torque 

Fk;.  sO. — Bronze  bracelet  from  1      ti         r        /-       r  j  ^       r 

Cortaiiiod,  (,n  the  Lake  of  much  like  fig.  64  tormcd  part  ot 
Neufchatei,  one-ihird  of  the    (-^e  great  Lamaud  find,  but  they 

actual  size.  ,  , 

appear  to  have  come  down  to  a 
much  later  period.  The  fact  is  interesting  that  very 
similar  ornaments,  made,   however,    not  of  gold,  but  of 


I'U;.  49.  —  Bronze  bracelet  from  Cor- 
taiiiod, on  the  Lake  of  Neufchatei, 
one-third  of  the  actual  size. 


46 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


iron,  are  now  worn  by  the  natives  of  Africa.     One   of 
these  is  represented  in  fig.  68.^ 

The  ornamentation  on  the  objects  of  bronze  is  of  a 
peculiar,  and  at  the  same  time  uniform,  character  ;  it 
consists  of  simple  geometrical  patterns,  and  is  formed  by 
combinations  of  spirals,  circles,  and  zigzag  lines  ;  repre- 
sentations of  animals,  and  plants  being  very  rarely 
attempted.  Even  the  few  exceptions  to  this  rule  are 
perhaps  more  apparent  than  real.  Thus,  two  such  only 
are  figured  in  the  Catalogue  of  the  Copenhagen  Museum  ; 
one  is  a  rude  figure  of  a  swan   (fig.  40),  the  other  of  a 


Figs.  51,  52,  53,  54. — Bronze  hair-pins  from  the  Swiss  lakes,  one-half 
of  the  actual  size. 

man  (fig.  42).  The  second  of  these  forms  the  handle 
of  a  knife,  which  appears  to  be  straight  in  the  blade,  a 
type  characteristic  of  the  Iron  Age,  but  rarely  found  in 
that  of  Bronze.  As  regards  one  of  them,  therefore,  there 
is  an  independent  reason  for  referring  it  to  the  period 
of  transition,  or  at  least  to  the  close  of  the  Bronze  Age. 
There  is,  indeed,  one  type  of  pattern,  usually  found  on 
the  razor-knives,  but  sometimes  also  on  others,  intended 
probably  for  a  rude  representation  of  a  ship  (fig.  46). 
Even,  however,  if  we  admit  this  to  be  the  case,  and  if 
we  accept  these  objects  as  belonging  to  the  Bronze  Age, 
this  will  only  show  how  little  advance  had  yet  been  made 
in  the  art  of  representing  natural  objects. 

'  AfcJuroloi^ia,  vol.  xliii.  p.  442. 


OBJECTS   OF   BRONZE 


47 


Celts  and  Fragments, 

Swords, 

Hammers, 

Knives  and  Fragments, 

Pins,  .... 

Small  Rings, 

Ear-rings,  . 

Bracelets  and  Fragments, 

Fish-hooks, 

Awls, 

Spiral  Wires, 

Lance-heads, 

Arrow-heads, 

Buttons,     . 

Needles,     . 

Various  Ornaments,  . 

Saws, 

Daggers,    . 

Sickles, 

Double-pointed  Tins, 

Small  Bracelets, 

Sundries,    . 


Total, 


c 

(U 

'C 

8 

7 

19 

53 
28 
42 

14 
12 

3 

7 

I 

2 
5 

12 

3 

208 

u 
V 

>^ 

in 

w 

6 

I 

14 

239 

115 

36 

16 

43 
49 
46 

5 
28 

3 
7 
3 

I 

5 
618 

73 

i 

u 

13 

22 

183 

195 

116 

21 

71 

98 

50 

4 

I 

10 

4 
18 

2 

II 
16 

835 

oi 
V 

_W 

<j 
>-. 
0 
U 

I 

19 
237 
202 

26 
9 

17 
5 
2 

10 

I 
3 

7 
539 

1.^ 

V 

'a 

u 
<U 

> 
3 
< 

4) 
0 

rt 

u 
a; 

II 

4 

9 
22 

3 
5 
2 
I 

2 

... 

2 

4 

4 

Total. 

23 

4 
102 
611 
496 
238 

55 
189 

95 

27 

20 
15 

I's 

75 
20 
96 

i 
li 
II 

C 

1 
I 

i 

67 

4 

5 

193 

1367 

1053 
440 

145 
248 
262 

lOI 

47 
6 

49 

30 

49 

3 

2 

45 

75 

31 

124 

2004 

72 

69 

4346 

The    foregoing    table,   which    I    owe    to   the    kindness 
of   Dr   Keller,  and  the   list    given    on    p.    18,   will   give 
an  idea  of  the  relative  num- 
bers of    the   different   ob-        ..^^.^  ,,,,,^ — ^ 

jeCtS.        Since    it  was   drawn  p^,^_  55._Bronze  awl  from  the  Swiss 

up  the  numbers  have  con-  lakes,  actual  size. 

siderably  increased,  and  the 

total    number    of    bronze    objects    recovered    from    the 

two  lakes  of  Bienne  and   Neufchatel  alone  now  exceeds. 

20,000. 

Dr  Thurnam  gives  the  following  list  of  the  bronze 
objects  found  by  Sir  R.  C.  Hoare  in  the  Wiltshire 
tumuli. 


48 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


Objects  of  Bronze. 


With  Unburnt 

With  Burnt 

Bodies. 

Bodies. 

Total 

Celts 

4 

I 

-? 

Blades  of  knives,  daggers,  etc. 

l6 

44 

60 

Awls  and  drills 

5 

29 

U 

Crutch-headed  screws 

I 

2 

^ 

Large  pin  with  rings 

I 

I 

Prong  with  rings   . 

I 

I 

Rivets  and  pieces  of  bronze- 

mounted  shield  (?) 

I 

I 

Bracelet          .... 

I 

I 

Buckle 

I 

I 

Bead 

... 

I 

I 

Total 


29 


79 


108 


As  already  mentioned  (anle,  p.  19),  the  bronze  objects 
were  evidently  in  many  cases  made  by  travelling  pedlars 


Figs.  56-60. — Various  small  objects  of  bronze  from  the  Swiss  lakes. 

who  exchanged  new  ones  for  old,  or  for  broken  pieces. 
To  save  carrying  about  heavy  and  precious  objects,  they 
often  concealed  part  of  their  stock,  and  many  of  their 
hoards  have  been  discovered,  in  France  alone  over  400. 
These   hoards  are  very  instructive,  and   I   shall  refer  to 


OBJECTS   OF   BRONZE 


49 


them  again  when  we  come  to  consider  the  chronology  of 
the  Bronze  Age. 

There  is,  I  believe,  only  one  case  in  which  any  bronze 
weapon  or  implement  bears  an  inscription  ;  a  fact  which 
is  the  more  significant  when  we  remember  how  often 
letters  are  met  with  on 
those  of  iron.  Fig.  71 
represents  this  interesting 
specimen,  which  is  a  winged 
celt,  and  is  in  the  Museum 
Kircherianum  of  the  Col- 
legio  Romano,  at  Rome. 
No  explanation  of  the 
inscription  has  yet  been 
given,  nor  do  we  even 
know  to  what  alphabet 
the  letters  belong.  It  was 
found  in  the  Campagna, 
but  there  is  unfortunately 
no  record  of  the  circum- 
stances under  which  it  was 
discovered. 

The  skill  displayed  in 
the  manufacture  of  the 
objects  described  in  this 
chapter,  as  well  as  the 
beauty  of  their  form  and 
ornamentation,  shows  a 
considerable  development 
of  art.  The  discovery  of 
a  bar  of  tin  at  Estavayer,  and  of  a  mould  for  casting 
celts  at  Morges,  has  proved  that  some  at  least  of  these 
objects  were  made  in  Switzerland,  just  as  evidence  of 
a  similar  nature  shows  that  other  countries  in  Europe, 
as,  for  instance,  Denmark,  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland, 
had  also  their  own  foundries.  The  similarity  of  form 
and  ornamentation  appears  also  to  indicate  some  com- 
munication between  different  parts  of  Europe  ;  but  each 
country  presents  special  types  ;  but  as  Cornwall,  Saxony, 

4 


Fig.  61. — Bronze  celt,  one-half  natural 
size.  Showing  the  line  of  junction  of 
the  two  halves  of  the  mould  in  which 
it  was  cast. 


50 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


and   Spain  ^  are  the  only  known  European  sources  from 
which   tin   can  be    obtained    in    any   quantity,   the    mere 


Fig.  62. — Bronze  brooch,  Mecklenburg,  three-tenths  natural  size.     Showing 
the  manner  in  which  it  has  been  mended. 


presence    of 


Fig.  63. — Bronze  celt 
Showing  the  air- 
vents  bent  over. 

Switzerland 


bronze  is  in  itself  a  sufficient  evidence 
not  only  of  metallurgical  skill,  but  also 
of  commercial  intercourse. 

We  should  hardly,  perhaps,  have  hoped 
to  ascertain  much  of  the  manner  in 
which  the  people  of  the  Bronze  Age  were 
dressed.  Considering  how  perishable  are 
the  materials  out  of  which  clothes  are 
necessarily  formed,  it  is  wonderful  that 
any  fragments  of  them  should  have  re- 
mained to  the  present  day.  There  can 
be  little  doubt  that  the  skins  of  animals 
were  extensively  used  for  this  purpose, 
as  indeed  they  have  been  in  all  ages 
of  man's  history  ;  many  traces  of  linen 
tissue  also  have  been  found  in  English 
tumuli  of  the  Bronze  Age,  and  in  the 
Swiss  lakes.  Figs.  189-190  represent 
pieces   of    fabric    from   Robenhausen    in 

they   belong,    however,    in    all  probability. 


^  Tin  is  said  to  have  anciently  been  obtained  in  Pannonia,  near  the 
modern  Temesvar,  but  1  do  not  know  whether  the  mines  were  extensive. 
See  Howorlh,  Stockholm  Frehist.  Con<^rcss,  p.  533. 


DRESS   OF   THE    BRONZE   AGE  51 

to  the  Stone  Age.  Even  small  fragments  such  as  these 
throw  much  light  on  the  manufactures,  if  we  may  call 
them  so,  of  the  period  to  which  they  belong  ;  but  for- 
tunately we  need  not  content  ourselves  with  any  such 
partial  knowledge  as  this,  as  we  possess  the  whole  dress 
of  a  chief  belonging  to  the  Bronze  Age. 


Fig.  64. — Gold  torque,  consisting  oi  a  simple  flat  strip  or  band  of  gold,  loosely 
twisted,  and  having  expanded  extremities  which  loop  into  one  another.  It 
measures  55  inches  across,  and  was  found  near  Clonmacnoise,  in  Ireland. 

On  a  farm  near  Ribe,  in  Jutland,  is  a  tumulus  known  as 
Treenhoi,  which  was  examined  in  1861  by  MM.  Worsaae 
and  Herbst.  It  is  about  fifty  ells  in  diameter  and  six  in 
height,  being  composed  of  a  loose  sandy  earth.  In  it, 
near  the  centre,  were  found  three  wooden  coffins,  two  of 
full  size  and  one  evidently  intended  for  a  child.  The 
coffin  with  which  we  are  now  particularly  concerned  was 
about  9  ft.  8  in.  long  and  2  ft.  2  in.  broad  on  the  outside  ; 
its  internal  measurements  were  7I  ft.  long  and  i  ft.  8  in. 
broad.      It  was  covered  by  a  movable  lid  of  corresponding 


52 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


Fig.  65. — Gold  fibula,  one 
half   of    the    actual    size, 


size.     The  contents  were  peculiar   and  very  interesting. 

While,  as  might  naturally  be  expected,  we  find,  in  most 
ancient  graves,  only  the  bones  and 
teeth,  all  the  soft  parts  having  long 
ago  decayed  away,  in  some  cases 
— and  this  was  one  of  them — almost 
exactly  the  reverse  has  happened. 
Through  the  action  of  water,  owing 
perhaps  to  the  fact  that  it  was 
strongly  impregnated  with  iron,  the 
soft  parts  of  the  body  had  been 
turned  into  a  dark,  greasy  substance ; 
and  the  bones,  with  the  exception 
u,'rcu"^<le:p"StnS:  of  a  few  fragments,  were  changed 
into  a  kind  of  blue  powder. 
Singularly  enough,  the  brain  seems  to  have  been   the 

part  which  had  undergone  least  change.     On  opening  the 

coffin,    it   was   found   lying   at 

one  end,  where  no  doubt  the 

head  had  originally  been  placed, 

covered     by    a     thick     hemi- 
spherical   woollen    cap,    about 

six  inches  in  height  (fig.  72). 

The  outer  side  of  the  cap  was 

thickly  covered  by  short  loose 

threads,    every    one    of    them 

ending  in  a  small  knot,  which 

gave   the   cap  a  very  singular 

appearance.     The  body  of  the 

corpse  had  been  wrapped  in  a 

coarse  woollen    cloak    (fig.   73),      Fig.  66.— Smooth,   massive,   cylin- 

Which  was  almost   semicircular,  ^"f  ^  gold  ring,  with  ornamented 

,      ,      ,,  .  ,       ,  ends,  one-hall  of  tlie  actual  si/.e. 

and    hollowed   out   round   the 

neck.  It  was  about  3  ft.  8  in.  long,  and  broad  in  pro- 
portion. On  its  inner  side  were  left  hanging  a  great 
number  of  short  woollen  threads,  which  gave  it  somewhat 
the  appearance  of  plush. 

On  the  right  side  of  the  body  was  a  box,  closed  by  a 
lid   of    the    same    diameter.      It  was    7|-  in.  in  diameter. 


DRESS    OF   THE   BRONZE   AGE 


53 


6^  in.  high,  and  was  fastened  together  by  pieces  of 
osier  or  bark.  In  this  box  was  a  similar  smaller  one, 
without  a  lid,  and  in  this  again  were  three  articles,  namely. 


Fig.  67. — Gold  fibula,  one-third  of  the  actual  size.  The  external  surfaces  of  the 
cups  are  decorated  with  circular  indentations  surrounding  a  central  indented 
spost.  There  is  also  an  elegant  pattern  where  the  handle  joins  the  cups.  It  is 
8|  inches  long,  and  weighs  33  ounces,  being  the  heaviest  now  known  to  exist. 

a  cap  7  in.  high,  of  simply  woven  woollen  stuff  (fig.  74)  ; 
a  small  comb  3  in.  long,  2^  in.  high  (fig.  75)  ;  and  a  small 
simple  razor-knife. 

After  the  cloak  and  the  bark-box  had  been  taken  away. 


jScc^/on  (H, 


Fig.  68. — Iron  ornament,  Africa. 


two  woollen  shawls  came  to  view,  one  of  them  covering 
the  feet,  the  other  lying  nearer  to  the  head.  They  were 
of  a  square  shape,  rather  less  than  5  ft.  long,  3  ft.  9  in. 
broad,  and  with  a  long  fringe  (fig.  77).  At  the  place 
where    the    body  had  lain  was  a  shirt  (fig.   76),  also  of 


54 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


Fio.  69. — Bronze  necklet  in  Bergen 
Museum. 


woollen  material,  cut  out  a  little  for  the  neck,  and  with  a 
long  projecting  tongue  at  one  of  the  upper  angles.     It 

was  fastened  at  the  waist  by 
a  long  woollen  band,  which 
went  twice  round  the  body, 
and  hung  down  in  front. 
On  the  left  side  of  the 
corpse  was  a  bronze  sword 
(fig.  31),  in  a  wooden  sheath. 
It  is  2  ft.  3  in.  in  length,  and 
has  a  solid  simple  handle. 

At  the  feet  were  two  pieces 
of  woollen  stuff,  about  14^ 
in.  long  and  2  2  ^'^-  wide 
(fig.  78),  the  use  of  which 
does  not  seem  quite  clear,  though  they  may  be  supposed 
to  have  been  leggings.  At  the  end  of  the  coffin  were 
found  traces  of  leather, 
doubtless  the  remains  of 
boots.  In  the  cap,  where 
the  head  had  been,  was 
some  black  hair,  and  the 
form  of  the  brain  was  still 
recognizable.  Finally, 
this  ancient  warrior  had 
been  wrapped  round  in 
an  ox's  hide,  and  so  com- 
mitted to  the  grave. 

The  other  two  coffins 
were  not  examined  by 
competent  persons,  and 
the  valuable  information 
which  they  might  have 
afforded  was  thus  lost  to  us.  The  more  indestructible 
things  were,  however,  preserved  ;  consisting  of  a  sword, 
a  brooch,  a  knife,  a  double-pointed  awl,  a  pair  of  tweezers, 
a  large  double  button  or  stud,  all  of  bronze  ;  a  small 
double  button  of  tin,  and  a  javelin-head  of  flint. 

The  baby's  coffin  produced  only  an  amber  bead,  and 


Fio.  70. — Bronze  torque  from  Norway, 
in  Bergen  Museum. 


DRESS   OF   THE   BRONZE   AGE 


5S 


Fig.  71. — Inscribed  celt, 
Museum  Kircherianum, 
Rome,  one-half  of  the 
actual  size. 


a  small  bronze  bracelet,  consisting  of  a   simple  ring  of 

metal. 

Another    tumulus    on    the    same   farm  contained  four 

wooden  coffins,  in  which  were  bodies  clothed  in  woollen 

garments,  a  bronze  sword  in  a  wooden 

sheath  ornamented  with  carvings,  two 

bronze  daggers,  a  wooden  bowl  orna- 
mented  by  a   large    number  of   tin 

nails,  a  vase  of  wood,  and  a   small 

box  of  bark. 

In  another  instance,  near  Aarhuus, 

the  dress  of  a  woman  was  discovered 

under   similar   circumstances.     Over 

her  head  were  two  shawls,  one  rather 

fine,  the  other  coarser.      She  wore  a 

cloak  with  sleeves,  and  a  long  shirt 

tied  round  the  waist  by  woollen  cords. 

She    also    had    been    buried    with    a 

bronze  dagger. 

There    can,  therefore,  be    no    doubt    that    these    very 

interesting  tumuli  date  from  the  Bronze  Age,  and  I  am 
inclined  to  place  them  somewhat  late 
in  that  period,  partly  on  account  of 
the  knife  and  razor-knife,  both  of 
which  belong  to  forms  which  there 
are,  as  already  mentioned,  other  reasons 
for  referring  to  the  close  of  the  Bronze 
Age,  and  to  the  beginning  of  that  of 
Iron.  Bronze  brooches  are  also  very 
rarely  found  in  the  Bronze  Age,  and 
are  common  in  that  of  Iron.  The 
sword,  again,  belongs  to  a  form  which 

is    regarded     by    Professor     Nilsson    as     being    of    late 

introduction. 

The    ancient   Egyptians  and  Assyrians  were  both  ac- 
quainted with   the  art  of  embroidery  at  a  very  early  date.^ 

Leviticus  (about  1500  i?.c.)   mentions  garments  of  linen 

'  See  Cole  on  "Ancient  Embroideries,"  Soc.  of  Arts  ^  Fel).  1895.     Also 
Yates'  Textimum  Antiqiiorum. 


Fig.  72. — Woollen  cap, 
one-sixth  of  the  actual 
size.  Found  with  the 
bronze  sword  (fig.  32) 
in  a  Danish  tumulus. 


56 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


and  wool.  Pliny  attributes  the  invention  of  cotton  weav- 
ing to  the  reign 
ofSemiramis.  In 
one  of  the  wall 
paintings  at  Beni- 
hassanon  the  Nile 
(about  2100  B.C.), 
a  figure  is  re- 
presented in  a 
spotted  dress  — 
apparently  woven 
with  a  shuttle. 
On  another  tomb 
at  Thebes,  a  per- 
sonage is  repre- 
sented in  a  dress 
with  red  and  blue 
spots,  which, 
however,  may 
have  been  darned 
on.  On  a  wall 
painting     in     the 

Ramesseum    (about    1400    b.c.)    an    Egyptian    being    is 

represented    in    a    dress    striped   with    blue   and    yellow, 

while  his  horse  carries  a  cloth  striped 

with    blue,   yellow,   red,   and  green. 

Herodotus  describes  a  corselet  sent 

as  a  present  by  Amasis  to  the  Greeks 

as  being  of  linen  with  "  many  figures 

of  animals  unwrought,  and  adorned 

with  gold  and  tree  wool." 

From    1000   B.C.   we   have    actual 

specimens  of  embroidery. 

Finally,   the    mode    of    sepulture, 

though   other    similar   cases    are    on 

record,    is,    to    say    the    least,    very 

unusual  ;    in  the   Age   of   Iron,   indeed,    the   corpse   was 

generally  extended,  but  in  that  of  Bronze  the  dead  were, 

with  few  exceptions,  burned,  or   buried    in  a  contracted 


Fig.  73. — A  woollen  cajie,  one-sixth  of  the  actual  size. 
Found  with  the  preceding. 


Fig.  74. — Another  woollen 
cap,  one  -  sixth  of  the 
actual  size.  Found  with 
the  preceding. 


BURIAL   DURING   THE   BRONZE   AGE 


57 


attitude.  In  Denmark,  cremation  appears  to  have  been 
almost  universal  ;  in  England,  I  have  taken  out  the 
statistics  of  lOO  cases  of  tombs  containing  objects  of 
bronze,  37  recorded  by  Mr  Bateman  and  6^  by  Sir 
R.  C.  Hoare  ;  and  the  following  table  shows  the 
manner  in  which  the  corpse  had  been  treated. 


Contracted. 

Burnt. 

Extended. 

Uncertain. 

Bateman 

•       15 

10 

5 

7 

Hoare . 

4 

49 

2 

8 

19 


59 


7 


15 


\SS\Kw 


H 


Fig.  75. — A  small  comb, 
one-sixth  of  the  actual 
size.  Found  with  the 
preceding. 


In  100  cases  recorded  by  Canon  Greenwell,  all  were 
contracted  or  burnt. 

We  may  consider,  therefore,  that  during  this  period 
the  corpse  was  sometimes,  though 
very  rarely,  extended  on  its  back, 
and  more  frequently  it  was  buried 
in  a  sitting  or  crouching  position, 
and  in  a  small  chamber  formed  by 
large  stones,  but  that  the  most  usual 
practice  was  to  burn  the  dead,  and 
collect  the  ashes  and  fragments  of 
bones  in  or  under  an  urn. 

The  ancient  funeral  customs,  however,  will  be  more 
fully  considered  in  a  subsequent  chapter. 

The  people  of  the  Bronze  Age  led  a  pastoral  life, 
having  cows,  sheep,  pigs,  dogs,  and  horses.  The  cows 
were  small,  about  the  size  of  the  present  Kerry  breed, 
standing  3  ft.  5  in.  at  the  shoulder.  Larger  oxen  some- 
times occurred,  but  were  not  common.  The  sheep  and 
horse  were  also  small  ;  but  the  pigs,  though  slender, 
were  about  the  average  size  of  modern  specimens.  There 
are  indications  that  they  cultivated  the  soil  from  the 
prevalence  of  lines  of  terrace  near  the  camps,  but  on  this 
point  the  evidence  is  not  conclusive. 

The  camps  were  no  doubt  occupied  for  a  long  period, 
and  from  that  day  to  this  objects  have  been  dropped  in 
them,  and   especially  in   the  ditch.     General   Pitt   Rivers, 


58 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


however,  has   carefully  recorded   not  only  when,  but  at 

what  depth,  every  object,  even 
every  bit  of  pottery,  was  found, 
and  the  result  is  most  inter- 
esting and  instructive.  He  has 
also  given  average  sections  of 
the  camps  and  the  ditches, 
showing  the  position  of  the 
relics  projected  into  them. 

We  know  as  yet  very  little 
about  the  architecture  of  the 
Bronze  Age.  Rougemont^ 
considers  that  the  Round  towers 
belong  to  that  period,  but  1 
know  no  sufficient  reason  for 
this  opinion. 
In  the  next 
I 


Fig.    76. — A    woollen    shirt,    one-     chapter 
sixth  of  the  actual  size.     Found       i     11 

shall  give  my 
for 


with  the  preceding. 

reasons 
referring  some  at  least  of  our  so-called 
Druidical  remains  to  that  period,  and 
many  of  the  Swiss  lake-villages  cer- 
tainly belong  to  it.  These  remains, 
indeed,  give  us  little  information  as  to 
the  kind  of  houses  then  in  use.  Cer- 
tain "hut-urns,"  however,  or  urns  in 
the  form  of  huts,  which  have  been 
discovered  in  Italy  and  Germany,  appear 
to  belong  to  the  close  of  the  Bronze 
Age.     The    Italian    "  hut-urns  "    were 

d-  1     •  o     _  0       .      A  ii_  Fit''    77- — A    woollen 

iscovered    m    1817-   at   Albano,   near       shawl,  one-sixth  of  the 

Rome,  under  an   undisturbed  layer  of 

peperino  or  consolidated  volcanic  ash, 

and  belong,  therefore,  to  a  time  when  the  volcanoes  near 

Rome  were  still  in  a  state  of  activity.     The  volume  of 


actual     size.      Found 
with  the  preceding. 


1  L'Age  du  Bronze^  pp.  12,  380. 

2  See  Lettera  del  Si^/ior  D.  A.  Visconti  sopra  alciini  vasi  sepolchrali 
rinvenuti  7ielle  vincinanze  della  antica  Alba-Longa,  Roma,  1867. 


HUT   URNS 


59 


Fig.  78. — A  pair  of  leggings 
one-third  of  the  actual  size. 
Found  with  the  preceding. 


the  Arch^eologia  for  1869  contains  a  full  account  by 
Professor  Plgorini  and  myself  of  the  numerous  vases 
and  other  objects  found  with  these  hut-urns.  The 
pottery  is  peculiarly  dark  and  com- 
pact, and  with  it  were  found  several 
bronze  knives.  The  presence  of 
some  fragments  of  iron,  however, 
appears  to  show  that  the  huts  be- 
long quite  to  the  close  of  the  Bronze 
Age,  or  rather  to  the  commence- 
ment of  that  of  Iron.  The  follow- 
ing figure  will  give  an  idea  of  the 
urns  themselves,  as  well  as  of  the 
houses  they  were  intended  to  re- 
present. 

These  cases  are  not  isolated.     In 
the  year  1837  Dr  Beyer  found  near 
Parchim   a   somewhat    similar   hut- 
urn    in   a   tumulus,   which,   both    from    its   form   and  as 
containing  bronze,  is  considered  by  Dr  Lisch  as  certainly 

belonging  to  the  Bronze  Age.' 

In  1849  ^"  \xrx\^  evidently 
intended  to  represent  a  house 
with  a  tall  straw  roof,  was  found 
in  a  tumulus  at  Aschersleben. 
From  its  colour  and  material 
Dr  Lisch  refers  this  urn  also  to 
the  Bronze  Age. 

The  Museum  at  Munich  con- 
tains a  very  interesting  piece  of 
pottery  (fig.  80),  apparently  in- 
tended to  represent  a  Lake- 
hamlet  comprising  seven  small 
round  huts.  The  huts  are  arranged  in  three  rows  of 
three  each,  thus  forming  three  sides  of  a  square.  The 
fourth  side  is  closed  by  a  wall,  in  the  centre  of  which 
is  an  opening  leading  into  a  porch,  which  is  represented 
as    being   thatched.      The    platform    on    which    the    huts 

'    Ueber  die  Hai/siirjie/t^'^Qhvu^rm,  1856. 


Fig.  79.  —  Hut  urn.     Albano. 


6o 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


stand  is  supported  by  four  columns  represented  as  con- 
sisting of  logs,  lying  one  upon  the  other.  The  roofs  are 
unfortunately  wanting.  The  sides  are  ornamented  with 
the  double  spiral  so  characteristic  of  the  Bronze  Age. 

In  North  Germany  and  Denmark  also  urns  have  been 
discovered  somewhat  resembling  that  in  fig.  79.  In 
some  cases  the  "  door "  is  in  the  roof.  Dr  Lisch 
considers  that  these  last  urns  are  the  earliest,  and  repre- 
sent a  form  of  dwelling  even  more  ancient  than  those  in 
which  the  door  is  in  the  side.  To  me,  I  confess,  it 
seems   more  probable  that  these  urns  belong  to  a  later 

period,  when  the  repre- 
sentation of  the  dwelling 
was  more  conventional, 
and  the  resemblance 
consequently  less. 

Many  of  the  dwell- 
ings in  use  during  the 
Bronze  Age  were  no 
doubt  subterranean  or 
semi  -  subterranean. 
On  almost  all  large 
tracts  of  uncultivated 
land  ancient  villages  of 
this  character  may  still  be  traced.  A  pit  was  dug, 
generally  from  6  to  16  feet  in  diameter,  and  the  earth 
which  was  thrown  out  formed  a  circular  wall,  the  whole 
being  then  probably  covered  over  with  boughs. 

True  hut  circles,  however,  occur  in  many  places.  In 
Anglesea  a  group  of  such  have  been  well  described  by 
the  Honourable  Owen  Stanley.^ 

On  Dartmoor  and  elsewhere,  where  large  blocks  of 
stone  abounded,  the  natives  saved  themselves  the  trouble 
of  excavating,  and  built  up  circular  walls  of  stone.  In 
other  cases,  perhaps  when  concealment  was  an  object,  or 
for  use  in  severe  weather,  the  dwellings  were  entirely 
subterranean. 


Fig.  80. — Urn  apparently  representing  a  lake 
dwelling.     In  the  Munich  collection. 


'   On    Reinai/is   of   the   Ancient    Ci>ri(/ar   Habitations   in    Holyhead 
Island,  by  the  Hon.  W.  O.  Stanley,  M.P. 


PICTS'   HOUSES 


6i 


Such  ancient  dwellings  are  in  Scotland  known  as 
"  weems,"  from  "  Uamha,"  a  cave.  In  one  of  these,  at 
Monzie,  in  Perthshire,  a  bronze  sword  was  discovered.^ 
Such  underground  chambers,  however,  appear  to  have 
been  used  in  Scotland  as  dwellings,  or  at  least  as  places 
of  concealment,  down  to  the  time  of  the  Romans  ;  for  a 
weem  described  by  Lord  Rosehill  ^  was  constructed  partly 
of  stones  "  showing  the  diagonal  and  diamond  markings 
peculiar  to  Roman  workmanship."     The  so-called  Picts' 


Fu;.  8i. — Beehive  house,  Inishmurray,  Sligo. 

houses,  which  are  so  common  in  the  north  of  Scotland, 
are  but  slightly,  and  often  not  at  all,  sunk  beneath 
the  surface,  though,  being  covered  with  earth,  they  arc 
scarcely  distinguishable  externally  from  the  larger  tumuli : 
but  on  digging  into  the  green  mound,  it  is  found  to 
cover  a  series  of  large  chambers,  built  generally  with 
stones  of  considerable  size  and  converging  towards  the 
centre,  where  an  opening  appears  to  have  been  left  for 
light  and  ventilation.  These  differ  little  from  many  of 
the  subterranean  weems,  excepting  that  they  are  erected 
on   the   natural  surface  of  the  soil,  and  have  been  buried 

'  Wilson,  Pre- Historic  Annals  of  Scotland^  vol.  i.  p.  104. 

^  Lord  Rosehill,  Proc.  of  the  Soc.  of  Ant.  of  Scot/and,  1869,  p.  109. 


62  PREHISTORIC  TIMES 

by  means  of  an  artificial  mound  heaped  over  them.  It 
may  seem  improbable  that  a  people  living  in  such  rude 
dwellings  should  possess  a  knowledge  of  metallurgy,  but 
the  Kaffirs  and  other  existing  African  tribes  present  us 
with  a  similar  case. 

From  these  we  pass  naturally  to  the  beehive  houses, 
which  are  constructed  of  dry,  thick  walls  in  the  form 
indicated  by  the  name.^  No  doubt  many  of  these  are 
very  ancient,  and  some  probably  date  from  the  Age  of 
Stone  ;  but  on  the  other  hand,  they  also  come  down  to 
the  present  day,  and  fig.  82  represents  a  group  in  Long 
Island,  on  the  shore  of  Loch  Resort,  which  was  inhabited 


Fic.,  82.^Group  of  beehive  he  uses,  Scotland. 

down  to  the  year  1823.  Even  now  some  few  beehive 
houses  are  still  occupied  in  the  Island  of  Uig. 

The  celebrated  "  brochs  "  or  "burghs"  which  abound 
in  the  north  of  Scotland,  as  well  as  in  the  Orkneys  and 
Shetlands,  are  of  a  very  peculiar  character.  They  have 
been  supposed  by  some  to  be  Scandinavian,  but  no 
similar  buildings  occur  in  Norway,  Sweden,  or  Denmark. 

Fig.  83  is  from  a  photograph  of  the  celebrated  Burgh 
of  Moussa,  in  the  Shetlands,  the  best  preserved  specimen 
of  this  curious  style  of  architecture.  I  visited  this  most 
interesting  building  in  1867.  It  stands  close  to  the  sea, 
on  the  little  Island  of  Moussa,  and  may  be  taken  as  a 
typical  specimen.  Some  300  are  known,  almost  all  in 
the  north  of  Scotland  or  on  the  Islands.  They  are  all 
circular,  about    60    feet    in    diameter,   with    walls    about 

'  See  Captain  Thomas  on  Beehive  Houses,  P7-oc.  Soc.  Antiq.  Scotland, 
vol.  iii.  p.  133;  vol.  vii.  p.  153.  See  also  Petrie,  Proc.  Soc.  Antiq. 
Scotland,  vol.  vii.  p.  201. 


BURGH   OF    MOUSSA 


63 


15  feet  thick,  enclosing  a  courtyard  about  30  feet  in 
diameter.  The  walls  contain  a  staircase,  which  leads  to 
the  top  of  the  building,  several  horizontal  galleries,  and 
sofne  small  conical  chambers,  all  opening  on  the  inside  ; 
the  only  external  orifice  being  the  door,  which  is  about 
7  feet  high. 


Fig.  83.  —The  Burgh  of  Moussa,  Shetland. 

The  absence  of  trees  and  abundance  of  stone  probably 
led  to  this  curious  style  of  architecture.  Although, 
moreover,  so  archaic  in  character,  these  burghs  continued 
in  use  down  to  historical  times,  in  fact  until  the  intro- 
duction of  lime,  and  the  knowledge  of  the  true  principle 
of  the  arch  enabled  the  natives  to  construct  buildings  of 
a  more  modern  character  ;  they  are  extremely  numerous 
in  Caithness,  in  the  Orkneys,  and  the  Shetlands  ;  but  this 
Moussa  Burgh  is  one  of  the  few  that  are  mentioned  in 


64 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


history.  Torfoeus  tells  us  that  about  the  year  1 1 50  Erling 
carried  off  the  beautiful  Margaret,  mother  of  Harold,  the 
then  Earl  of  Orkney,  and  was  besieged  in  Moussa  by 
Harold,  who,  however,  being  unable  to  take  the  place,  at 
length  thought  it  politic  to  consent  to  the  marriage.  By 
far  the  greater  number  of  the  burghs  are  mere  ruins,  and 
the  so-called  Dun  of  Dornadilla,  supposed  to  have  been 
erected  by  the  ancient  Scotch  king  of  that  name,  is  the 
only  one  which  is  at  all  as  complete  as  that  of  Moussa. 
Whether  any  of  the  burghs  are  referable  to  the  Bronze 


Fig. 


-Staigue  Fort,  in  the  county  of  Kerry,     From  a  model  in  the 
collection  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy. 


Age  it  is  impossible  to  say.  It  is  remarkable,  however, 
that  in  the  Island  of  Sardinia  there  are  archaic  buildings 
known  as  "  nurhags,"  which  closely  resemble  the  British 
burghs. 

In  a  future  chapter  I  shall  endeavour  to  show  that 
Stonehenge  and  Avebury  belong  to  the  Bronze  Age. 
Some  of  the  ancient  fortifications  also  probably  are  of  this 
period,  but  a  large  proportion,  as  well  as  many  of  the 
earthen  forts  known  as  Raths  and  Duns  and  the  stone 
forts  known  as  Cashels  or  Cahirs,  as  for  instance  the 
Staigue  Fort,  in  the  county  of  Kerry,  fig.  84,  belong  in 
all  probability  to  a  much  later  period.  In  Sligo  alone 
there  are  said  to  be  no  less  than  1800  forts, ^ 

1   T.  R.  Irish  Soc.  of  Ant.,  1891. 


CHAPTER  III 


THE    BRONZE    AGE 


There  have  been  four  principal  theories  as  to  the  Bronze 
Age.  According  to  some  archaeologists,  the  discovery, 
or  introduction,  of  bronze  was  (i)  due  to  Roman  influence, 
(2)  to  the  Etruscans,  (3)  to  the  Phoenicians,  (4)  to  a  new 
and  more  civilized  people  of  Indo-European  race,  coming 
from  the  East,  who,  bringing  with  them  a  knowledge  of 
bronze,  overran  Europe,  and  dispossessed — in  some  places 
entirely"  destroying — the  original  or  rather  the  earlier 
inhabitants,  or,  lastly,  was  the  result  of  gradual  and 
peaceable  development. 

The  Roman  theory  has  been  dealt  with,  perhaps  under 
the  circumstances  at  almost  unnecessary  length,  and  has 
now  no  adherents. 

M.  Wiberg  attempted  to  show  that  the  Bronze  Age  in 
Northern  Europe  was  mainly  due  to  Etrurian  merchants. 
Without,  however,  altogether  denying  the  influence  of 
Etrurian  art,  we  have  not  any  evidence  that  Etruria  ever 
enjoyed  so  extensive  a  commerce  as  would  account  for 
the  great  number  of  bronze  objects  which  have  been 
found  in  Northern  and  Western  Europe. 

The  theory  which  attributed  the  Bronze  Age  civiliza- 
tion in  Northern  Europe  to  Phoenician  influence  was 
maintained  by  Professor  Nilsson  with  great  ability.^ 
Since  he  wrote,  however,  the  evidence  has  convinced 
archaeologists  that  the  Bronze  Age  commenced  much  earlier 
than  was  supposed  fifty  years  ago.     Marseilles  was  only 

1  Skatidinaviska  Nordens  Ur-invanare^  af  S.  Nilsson,  Stockholm,  1862. 
English  ed.,  ed.  by  Sir  John  Lubbock  :  Longmans. 

65  5 


66  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

founded  in  600  b.c.  ;  Carthage  in  800  b.c.  ;  and  Utica, 
according  to  Strabo  and  Pliny,  about  300  years  earlier  ; 
and,  as  we  shall  see,  the  Bronze  Age  commenced  long 
before  these  dates. 

Nor  is  there  any  sufficient  evidence  that  bronze  was 
introduced  by  a  new  superior  or  conquering  race,  which 
disposed,  or  destroyed,  the  previous  neolithic  inhabitants. 

It  would  seem,  therefore,  that  the  knowledge  of  bronze 
was  introduced  from  the  East,  and  gradually  made  its 
way  over  Europe. 

A  circumstance  which  strongly  militates  against  the 
theory  of  a  gradual  and  independent  development  of 
metallurgical  knowledge  in  different  countries,  is  the  fact 
which,  though  perhaps  somewhat  too  strongly  stated  by 
Mr  Wright,  is  substantially  correct,  that  whenever  we 
find  the  bronze  swords  or  celts,  "  whether  in  Ireland,  in 
the  far  west,  in  Scotland,  in  distant  Scandinavia,  in 
Germany,  or  still  further  east  in  the  Sclavonic  countries, 
they  are  the  same,  not  similar  in  character,  but  identical." 
The  great  resemblance  to  each  other  of  stone  implements 
found  in  different  parts  of  the  world  may  be  satisfactorily 
accounted  for  by  the  similarity  of  the  material,  and  the 
simplicity  of  the  forms.  But  this  argument  cannot  be 
applied  to  the  bronze  arms  and  implements.  Though 
there  are  certain  differences,  yet  several  varieties  of  celts 
found  throughout  Europe,  as  well  as  some  of  the  swords, 
knives,  daggers,  etc.,  are  so  similar  that  they  seem  as  if 
they  must  have  been  cast  by  the  same  maker.  Compare, 
for  instance,  figs.  4,  6,  and  13,  which  represent  Irish 
celts,  with  14,  15,  and  16,  which  are  copied  from  Danish 
specimens  ;  the  three  swords,  figs.  26,  27,  and  28,  which 
come  respectively  from  Ireland,  Sweden,  and  Switzerland, 
and  the  two,  figs.  29  and  30,  of  which  the  first  is  Swiss, 
the  second  Scandinavian.  It  would  have  been  easy  to 
multiply  examples  of  this  similarity,  and  it  is  not  going 
too  far  to  say  that  these  resemblances  cannot  be  the 
result  of  accident.  On  the  other  hand,  it  must  be 
admitted  that  each  country  has  certain  minor  peculiarities. 
Neither  the  form  nor  the  ornaments  are  exactly  similar. 


SIMILARITY   OF   BRONZE   IMPLEMENTS    67 

In  Denmark  and  Mecklenburg,  spiral  ornaments  are 
most  common  ;  farther  south,  these  are  replaced  by  ring 
ornaments  and  lines.  The  Danish  swords  generally  have 
solid  and  richly-decorated  handles,  as  in  figs.  30-36, 
while  those  found  in  Great  Britain  (fig.  26)  terminate  in 
a  plate  which  was  riveted  to  pieces  of  wood  or  bone. 
Again,  the  British  lance-heads  frequently  have  loops  at 
the  side  of  the  shaft-hole,  as  in  figs.  22,  23,  and  24,  which 
is  never  the  case  with  Danish  specimens. 

The  evidence  also  indicates  that  the  use  of  bronze, 
when  once  discovered,  spread  rapidly,  because  we  find 
the  simplest  and  earliest  forms  scattered  over  the  whole 
area,  whereas  if  the  process  had  been  slow,  the  more 
useful  and  complex  forms  would  have  been  developed 
before  the  use  of  metal  reached  our  shores. 

The  impurities  in  the  bronze  indicate,  as  was  shown  in 
the  last  chapter,  that  the  copper  ore  was  not  all  derived 
from  one  locality  ;  and  lastly,  the  discovery  of  moulds  in 
Ireland,  Scotland,  England,  Switzerland,  Denmark,  and 
elsewhere,  proves  that  the  art  of  casting  in  bronze  was 
known  and  practised  in  many  countries. 

On  the  whole,  then,  though  there  is,  I  think,  ample 
evidence  to  prove  that  the  general  use  of  bronze  weapons 
and  implements  characterizes  a  well-marked  epoch  in 
history,  it  must  also  be  admitted  that  we  have  still  very 
much  to  learn  in  regard  to  this  interesting  phase  in  the 
development  of  European  civilization,  and  the  race  by 
whom  the  knowledge  of  metals  was  introduced  into  our 
Continent. 

The  discoveries  of  bronze  implements  may  be  arranged 
under  three  heads  : — 

(i)  Objects  lost  ; 

(2)  Objects  buried  with  the  dead  ; 

(3)  Hoards  ; 

Of  these  three  classes  the  third  is  the  most  important 
and  instructive. 

In    Great   Britain    the  objects  found  with    burials    are 


68  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

comparatively  few.      In  Europe,  on  the  contrary,  some  of 
them  were  rich  and  important. 

Hoards,  again,  may  be  divided  into 

(i)  Treasures. 

(2)   Stocks-in-trade. 

The  greatest  of  all  hoards  is  that  discovered  in  1877  by 
Signor  Zannoni,  who  in  excavating  for  a  new  sewer  on  behalf 
of  the  municipality  of  Bologna  came  across  an  immense 
vase  of  bronze  containing  no  less  than  14,800  objects  in 
that  metal,  and  3  small  pieces  of  iron.^ 

Chantre  describes  some  fifty  French  hoards,  and  Evans 
gives  a  most  interesting  table  of  1 10  found  in  Britain. 

The  late  Sir  John  Evans  in  his  masterly  work  on  The 
Bronze  Age  divided  it  into  three  periods.  Montelius 
now  considers  ^  that  five  can  be  satisfactorily  distinguished. 
Types  belonging  to  two  periods  are  very  seldom  found 
together.  Some  cases,  indeed,  occur  in  which  types  of  the 
first  and  second,  or  of  the  third  and  fourth  periods  occur 
together,  but  the  first  and  third,  or  the  second  and  fourth, 
are  never,  or  scarcely  ever,  represented  in  the  same 
find.  The  exceptions  to  this  rule  are  very  rare,  which 
shows  that  the  types  were  really  successive. 

Period  i 

This  might  be  termed  the  Copper  Age,  most  of  the 
metallic  objects  being  of  pure  copper.  Stone  implements 
were  still  abundant,  metal  being  rare.  The  axes  of 
copper  were  simple  and  flat,  without  ridges  or  stops 
(figs.  4,  7).  There  were  also  daggers  with  a  broad  flat 
tang  and  generally  without  rivet  holes.  The  objects  of 
bronze  were  in  fact  copies  of  those  of  stone. 

The  metallic  objects  of  this  period  consisted  of — 
(i)   Small  bronze  blades. 

It  may  be  suggested  that  these  were  in  many  cases 
made  specially  for  the  use  of  the  dead  in  the  next  world, 

'  Ridgeway,  Early  Age  of  Greece,  p.  242.  Miss  Cameron,  Old  Etruria, 
p.  104. 

"  ArcJucologia,  Ixi.  p.  97. 


PERIODS   OF   THE   BRONZE   AGE         69 

and    that    this    may    account    for    their    small    size    and 
flimsiness. 

(2)  Simple  flat  axes  without  flanges  or  a  stop-ridge. 

There  are  also  rare  objects  of  gold,  amber,  and  jet. 
The  pottery  belongs  to  the  classes  known  as  drinking- 
cups  (fig.  180)  and  food  vessels  (fig.  178). 

Stonehenge  probably  belongs  to  this  period. 

Period  1 

The  metal  characteristic  of  this  period  is  a  true  bronze 
containing  often  10  per  cent,  of  tin.  Weapons  and 
implements  of  stone  are  much  rarer.  The  axes  are  in 
many  cases  still  flat,  but  broader  at  the  edge  :  many,  how- 
ever, are  flanged,  and  the  blade  is  not  unfrequently  orna- 
mented with  chevrons  or  spiral  fluting,  but  there  are  still 
none  with  stop-ridges  or  sockets.  The  flange  is  so  great, 
and  at  the  same  time  so  simple,  an  improvement,  that 
when  it  was  once  introduced  it  would  soon  supersede  the 
old  flat  blade. 

The  daggers  are  larger  and  often  provided  with  bronze 
rivets,  and  sometimes  with  small  gold  pins.  There  are 
also  halberds  with  the  blade  inserted  at  right  angles  into 
the  handle.  Gold  is  more  abundant,  and  there  are  some 
beautiful  neck  ornaments  or  lunulae. 

Period  3 

No  stone  weapons  have  been  found  in  any  burial  or 
any  hoard  belonging  to  this  or  the  later  periods. 

The  bronze  axes  are  more  elaborate,  the  flanges  are 
higher,  and  the  edge  often  more  expanding,  sometimes 
almost  semilunar.  Some  of  them  have  a  loop,  for  attach- 
ment to  the  handle,  on  one  or  both  sides.  There  are  no 
socketed  axes,  but  on  the  other  hand  some  of  the  daggers 
have  sockets,  if  these  really  belong  to  this  period. 

Several  sickles  have  been  found  and  may  be  referred 
to  this  period. 

The  ornaments  are  richer  and  more  elaborate.  They  com- 
prise bracelets,  "  torques  "  (figs.  64,  70),  and  gold  collars. 


70  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

Some  rich  hoards  belong  to  this  period  ;  I  may  mention 
those  of  Grunty  Fen,  Cambridge  ;  Lovehayne,  Devon  ; 
Plymstock,  Devon  ;  Arreton  Down,  Isle  of  Wight  ;  West 
Buckland,  Somerset  ;  Edington  Burtle,  Somerset  ;  Hol- 
lingbury,  Sussex  ;  Wrexham. 

Period  4 

The  objects  of  bronze  are  again  more  varied  and 
elaborate  :  the  axes  have  stop-ridges  and  are  often 
socketed  ;  the  daggers  are  more  elongated  ;  swords  make 
their  appearance,  sometimes  with  bronze  handles  ;  there 
are  also  socketed  spear-heads,  sometimes  with  loops  at  the 
side,  or  at  the  base  of  the  blade  ;  torques,  armlets,  etc. 

Period  5 

Socketed  and  winged  axes. 

Socketed  hammers. 

Tanged  chisels. 

Gouges. 

Socketed  daggers. 

Leaf-shaped  swords,  some  with  solid  handles. 

Trumpets. 

Socketed  spear-heads. 

Horse-bits. 

Bracelets  and  necklets  of  bronze  or  gold. 

Razors. 

Knives. 

The  gradual  development  of  the  axe  thus  shown  is 
very  interesting.  Beginning  with  the  flat  simple  form 
(figs.  4,  1 1),  which  is  obviously  a  copy  of  the  stone  axe, 
we  pass  (2)  to  the  form  (figs.  13,  15,  17)  with  slight 
side  flanges  ;  the  next  stage  (3)  is  the  addition  of  a  stop- 
ridge  (figs.  5,  8,  20),  the  next  the  invention  of  the  socket, 
and,  lastly,  the  addition  of  wings  placed  (figs.  6,9,  16) 
near  the  top. 

From  the  evidence  given  in  Chapter  I.,  it  may  be, 
I  think,  concluded  that  iron  was  beginning  to  be  used  in 
Britain  about  1000  B.C. 


DATE   OF   BRONZE   AGE  71 

As  regards  bronze,  some  articles  of  copper  are  said  by 
M.  de  Morgan  to  have  been  in  the  tomb  supposed  to 
have  been  that  of  Menes,  4400  b.c.  A  bronze  rod  was 
found  in  the  Pyramid  of  M^dum  3700  b.c.^  The  copper 
mines  of  Sinai  were  worked  in  the  time  of  Seneferu, 
3733  B.C. 

Sir  Arthur  Evans  assigns  the  date  of  2500  b.c.  to  some 
of  the  copper  objects  from  Knossos.  Schliemann  found 
copper  objects  in  the  lowest  stratum  of  the  first  pre- 
historic city,  3000-2500  B.C.  according  to  Dorpfeld. 
From  Mesopotamia  there  is  a  small  bronze  figure  bearing 
the  name  of  King  Gudea,  2500  b.c.,^  and  blocks  of  the 
metal  were  recorded  by  Thothmes  III.  as  among  the 
tribute  received  by  him. 

It  is  evident  that  none  of  these  finds  takes  us  back  to 
the  earliest  use  of  copper,  for  they  all  indicate  consider- 
able knowledge  and  skill.  We  may  then,  I  think,  safely 
carry  back  the  discovery  of  copper  to  about  5000  b.c 

It  remains  to  consider  how  long  a  period  we  should 
allow  for  the  knowledge  of  metal  to  spread  from  the 
JEcre3.n  to  Great  Britain. 

The  late  Sir  John  Evans,  in  his  work  on  the  Bronze 
Age,  estimated  ^  the  commencement  of  the  Bronze  Age 
in  England  at  from  1400  to  1200  b.c  To  quote  other 
high  authorities,  Dr  Sophus  Muller  suggests  about  1200 
B.C.  ;  Abercromby,  in  his  excellent  work  on  Pottery, 
agrees  with  Sir  J.  Evans'  chronology;''  and  Sir  C.  H. 
Read,  1800  b.c,  "within  a  few  centuries."^  This,  how- 
ever, Evans  regarded  as  a  conservative  estimate,  and  if 
he  were  writing  now  he  would,  I  think,  have  carried  it 
further  back. 

Though  it  may  seem  an  extreme  view  to  adopt,  I  am 
disposed  to  suggest  that  we  must  carry  the  knowledge  of 
bronze  in  this  country  to  an  even  more  remote  period. 
Montelius    himself  says^  that  "new   finds  will  probably 

^   British  Miiseimi  Bronze  Ai^e  Cat.,  p.  126. 

2  British  Museum  Cat..,  Bronze  A_i(e,  p.  9. 

^  Loc.  cit.,  p.  473.  '  Bronze  Ai^e  Pottery,  p.  103. 

"  British  Museiun  Guide  to  the  Bronze  Age,  p.  26. 

"  Arclueologia,  Ixi.  p.  162. 


72  PREHISTORIC  TIMES 

give  a  still  higher  date  for  the  earliest  use  of  copper  there," 
i.e.  in  Britain. 

In  the  first  place,  I  am  impressed  by  the  number  of 
copper  and  bronze  objects  found  here  and  in  Scandinavia, 
and  which  seems  to  indicate  a  very  long  period. 

Secondly,  the  gradual  development  of  new  forms  and 
ornaments  must  have  taken  very  long.  We  can  hardly, 
I  think,  attribute  less  than  say  three  hundred  years  to  each 
of  Montelius'  five  periods. 

in  the  third  place,  if  the  dates  given  for  Egypt  and 
Greece  are  correct,  even  Montelius'  earliest  date  assumes 
that  metal  was  used  in  the  South  two  thousand  years  before 
the  knowledge  reached  Britain.  I  cannot  think  it  could 
have  taken  so  long. 

Coins  were  invented  about  650  b.c,  and  our  earliest 
coins  were  struck  in  Kent  about  200  b.c,  i.e.  after  an 
interval  of  under  five  hundred  years. 

Fourthly,  the  copper  and  early  bronze  objects  found  in 
Britain  belong  to  the  earliest  and  simplest  types.  Now, 
if  the  use  of  bronze  had  been  known  in  Southern  and 
Eastern  Europe  two  thousand  years  before  it  reached  us,  it 
must  have  attained  to  a  high  stage.  Our  earliest  specimens 
would  be  socketed  celts,  leaf-shaped  spear-heads,  swords, 
etc.  As  a  matter  of  fact  they  are,  as  we  have  seen, 
simple  flat  axes,  evident  copies  of  stone  implements, 
small  bronze  knife-blades,  etc.,  evidently  dating  back  to 
quite  archaic  times.  We  cannot,  then,  surely  allow  more 
than  a  thousand  years,  if  so  much,  to  have  elapsed  between 
the  discovery  of  copper  in  the  East  and  its  appearance  on 
our  shores. 

The  tendency  of  recent  researches  has  been  to  carry 
back  our  dates,  and,  taking  all  the  facts  into  considera- 
tion, it  seems  reasonable  to  estimate  that  the  Bronze  Age 
in  Northern  Europe  and  Great  Britain  commenced  about 
2500  B.C. 


CHAPTER  IV 


THE    USE    OF    STONE    IN    ANCIENT    TIMES 


The  preceding  chapters  have  been  devoted  to  the  Age  of 
Bronze.  We  must  now  pass  on  to  still  earlier  times  and 
ruder  races  of  men  ;  to  a  period  which,  for  obvious  reasons, 
is  called  by  archaeologists  the  Stone  Age.^ 

The  Stone  Age,  however,  falls  naturally,  as  has  been 
already  stated,  into  two  great  divisions  : 

First,  that  of  the  Drift,  which  I  have  proposed  to 
call  the  Palgeolithic  Period. 

Secondly,  the  later  Stone  Age,  for  which  I  have  sug- 
gested the  term  Neolithic,  and  in  which  the  stone  imple- 
ments are  more  skilfully  made,  more  varied  in  form,  and 
often  polished.  We  will  now  consider  this  later  period, 
reserving  the  earlier  for  a  subsequent  chapter. 

The  immense  number  of  stone  implements  which  occur, 
in  all  parts  of  the  world,  is  sufficient  evidence  of  the  im- 
portant part  they  played  in  ancient  times.  M.  Herbst 
has  favoured  me  with  the  following  list  of  the  numbers 
contained  in  the  Copenhagen  Museum  : — 


Flint  axes  and  wedges 
Broad  chisels 
Hollow  ditto 
Narrow  chisels 
Hollow  ditto 


1070 
285 
270 

33 


'  For  further  information  on  the  subject  of  this  chapter,  I  may  refer  to 
Sir  John  Evans'  excellent  work  on  Ancient  Stone  Implements  ;  to  Sir 
C.  H.  Read's  British  Museum  Guide  to  Stone  Implements  ;  and  to  M. 
Delechette's  Archeoloi^ie  Prchistorique. 

73 


74 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


Poniard  chisels     .... 

250 

Lance-heads          .... 

.       6^6 

Arrow-heads         .... 

171 

Half-moon-shaped  implements 

205 

Pierced  axes  and  axe-hammers 

746 

Flint  flakes           .... 

300 

Sundries      ..... 

.       489 

Rough  stone  implements  from  the  Kjok- 
kenmoddings    ..... 
Bone  implements  .... 

Ditto  from  Kjokkenmoddings 


4840 

3678 
171 
109 

8798 


These  figures  refer  to  the  year  1864,  and  if  duplicates 
and  broken  specimens  were  counted,  M.  Herbst  thinks 
that  the  number  would  have  been  between  11,000  and 
12,000.  He  has  also  had  the  kindness  to  estimate  for 
me  the  numbers  in  private  and  provincial  museums,  and, 
on  the  whole,  he  believes  we  shall  be  within  the  mark  if 
we  consider  that  the  Danish  museums  contain  30,000 
stone  implements,  to  which,  moreover,  must  be  added 
the  rich  stores  then  at  Flensborg  and  Kiel,  as  well  as  the 
very  numerous  specimens  with  which  the  liberality  of 
Danish  archaeologists  has  enriched  other  countries,  for 
there  is  scarcely  any  important  collection  in  Europe 
which  does  not  possess  some  illustrations  of  the  Danish 
stone  implements. 

The  museum  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy  includes 
(1865)  512  celts,  more  than  400  arrow-heads,  and  50 
spear-heads,  besides  75  "scrapers,"  and  numerous  other 
objects  of  stone,  such  as  flakes,  slingstones,  hammers, 
whetstones,  querns,  grain-crushers,  etc.  Again,  the 
museum  at  Stockholm  is  estimated  to  contain  between 
15,000  and  16,000  specimens. 

In  addition  to  those  cases  in  which  large  numbers  of 
stone  implements  have  been  found  on  spots  which  were 


USE   OF   STONE   IMPLEMENTS  75 

evidently  the  sites  of  dwellings  or  villages,  there  are  many- 
instances  in  which  considerable  numbers  have  been  met 
with  under  circumstances  which  show  that  they  were 
purposely  deposited,  either  hidden  away  for  future  use, 
or  perhaps,  as  Worsaae  has  maintained,^  as  offerings  to 
the  gods.  Thus  at  Frederickville  in  Illinois,  3500  disks 
of  flint  were  found  at  a  depth  of  about  five  feet  ranged 
carefully  side  by  side  ;  in  Ross  County,  Ohio,  4000  disks 
and  pointed  instruments  of  stone  were  found  near  some 
ancient  mounds  known  as  Clark's  Work. 

Yet  the  very  existence  of  a  Stone  Age  has  till  lately 
been  denied  by  some  eminent  archaeologists.  Thus,  Mr 
Wright,  the  learned  Secretary  of  the  Ethnological  Society, 
while  admitting  that  "  there  may  have  been  a  period  when 
society  was  in  so  barbarous  a  state  that  sticks  or  stones 
were  the  only  implements  with  which  men  knew  how  to 
furnish  themselves,"  doubted  "  if  the  antiquary  has  yet 
found  any  evidence  of  such  a  period." 

If  we  consider  the  difficulties  of  mining  in  early  days, 
the  rude  implements  with  which  men  had  then  to  work, 
their  ignorance  of  the  many  ingenious  methods  by  which 
the  operations  of  modern  miners  are  so  much  facilitated, 
and,  finally,  the  difficulties  of  carriage  either  by  land  or 
water,  it  is  obvious  that  bronze  implements  must  always 
have  been  very  expensive. 

In  addition,  moreover,  to  the  a  priori  probability,  there 
is  plenty  of  direct  evidence  that  bronze  and  stone  were  in 
use  at  the  same  time.  Thus  Mr  Bateman  records  thirty- 
seven  instances  of  tumuli  which  contained  objects  of 
bronze,  and  in  no  less  than  twenty-nine  of  these  stone 
implements  also  were  found.  At  the  time  of  the  discovery 
of  America,  the  Mexicans,  though  well  acquainted  with 
the  use  of  bronze,  still  used  flakes  of  obsidian  for  knives 
and  razors,  and  even  after  the  introduction  of  iron^  stone 
was  still  used  for  various  purposes. 

There  can  no  longer,  however,  be  any  doubt  not  only 
that  there  was  a  period  "  when  society  was  in  so  barbarous 
a  state  that  sticks  or  stones  "  (to  which  we  must  add  horns 

'  Mat.  p.  Serv.  1 882,  p.  131. 


76  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

and  bones)  "  were  the  only  implements  with  which  men 
knew  how  to  furnish  themselves,"  but  also  that  the 
antiquary  has  found  "  clear  evidence  of  such  a  period." 

Moreover,  as  already  mentioned,  the  Stone  Age  falls 
into  two  distinct  periods,  the  oldest  of  which,  or  Palaeo- 
lithic, will  be  dealt  with  in  subsequent  chapters. 

So  far  as  the  Neolithic,  or  more  recent  Stone  Age,  is 
concerned,  our  knowledge  is  derived  principally  from  four 
sources,  to  the  consideration  of  which  I  propose  to  devote 
four  separate  chapters  :  namely,  the  Tumuli,  or  ancient 
burial-mounds  ;  the  lake-habitations  of  Switzerland  ;  the 
Kjokkenmoddings,  or  shell-mounds,  of  Denmark  ;  and 
the  Bone-caves.  There  are,  indeed,  many  other  remains 
of  great  interest,  such,  for  example,  as  the  ancient  fortifica- 
tions, the  "  castles  "  and  "  camps  "  which  crown  so  many 
of  our  hill-tops  ;  and  the  great  lines  of  embankment, 
which  cross  so  many  of  our  uplands,  such  as  OfFa's  Dyke 
and  the  Wans  Dyke  ;  there  are  the  so-called  Druidical 
circles  and  the  vestiges  of  ancient  habitations  ;  the  "  Hut- 
circles,"  "  Cloghauns,"  "  Weems,"  "Pen-pits,"  "  Picts' 
houses,"  etc.  The  majority  of  these  belong,  however,  in 
all  probability,  and  many  of  them  certainly,  to  a  later 
period  ;  and  in  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge,  we 
cannot  say  which,  or  how  many,  are  referable  to  the 
Stone  Age. 

Flint  was  the  material  most  commonly  used,  but  every 
kind  of  stone,  hard  and  tough  enough  for  the  purpose, 
was  utilized  during  the  Stone  Age  in  the  manufacture  of 
implements.  The  magnificent  collection  of  celts  at  Dublin 
has  been  specially  studied,  from  a  mineralogical  point  of 
view,  by  the  Rev.  S.  Haughton,  and  the  results  are  thus 
recorded  by  Wilde  :  ^ 

"  Of  the  better  qualities  of  rock  suited  for  celt-making, 
the  type  of  the  felspathic  extreme  of  the  series  of  trap 
rocks  is  the  pure  felstone,  or  petrosilex,  ...  of  a  pale 
blueish  or  greyish  green,  except  where  the  surface  has 
been  acted  upon,  and  the  average  composition  of  which  is 
25  parts  quartz  and  75  felspar.  Its  physical  characters 
'  Catalogue  of  tJie  Royal  Irish  Academy,  p.  72. 


MATERIALS   FOR   STONE   IMPLEMENTS     77 

are  absence  of  toughness,  and  the  existence  of  a  splintery 
conchoidal  fracture  almost  as  sharp  as  that  of  flint.  .  .  . 
At  the  hornblendic  extreme  of  the  trap  rocks  we  find  the 
basalt,  of  which  also  celts  were  made  ;  tough  and  heavy, 
the  siliceous  varieties  having  a  splintery  fracture,  but 
never  affording  so  cutting  an  edge  as  the  former.  .  .  . 
Intermediate  in  character  between  these  two  rocks  we  find 
all  the  varieties  of  felstone,  slate,  and  porphyry  streaked 
with  hornblende,  from  which  the  great  majority  of  the 
foregoing  implements  have  been  made." 

It  is  very  remarkable  how  carefully  the  best  kinds  of 
stone  were  selected,  even  when  very  rare.  Of  this  the 
most  interesting  example  is  afforded  by  the  axes,  etc.,  of 
jade  or  nephrite,  of  jadeite  and  of  saussurite.  These 
minerals  are  very  distinct  chemically,  but  so  similar  in 
appearance  that  they  can  only  be  distinguished  by  analysis. 
Objects  made  from  them,  though  far  from  common,  are 
not  very  rare.      M.  Fischer  gives  the  following  table  : — 


France. 

Germany. 

Switzerland, 

Jade  or  nephrite 

0 

3 

II18 

Jadeite 

•     77 

46 

138 

Chloromelanite    . 

•     S3 

17 

66 

Till  1884,  no  European  locality  of  jade  or  nephrite 
was  known,  and  though  it  has  now  been  discovered  in 
Silesia,  and  some  few  other  places,  they  are  very  rare,  and 
have  not  been  found  anywhere  near  Brittany, 

Beads  of  Baltic  amber  are  scattered  over  Central 
Europe.  The  same  may  be  said  of  obsidian,  for  which 
there  are  only  one  or  two  sources.  Another  interesting 
case  is  afforded  by  the  Pressigny  flint  implements  (see 
page   81). 

Again,  beads  of  Callais,  another  mineral  not  known  to 
occur  in  Europe,  have  been  found  in  the  tumuli  of 
Brittany  and  some  other  parts  of  France. 

Other  facts  of  a  similar  nature  are  on  record.  Thus 
Messrs  Squier  and  Davis  tell  us  that  in  the  tumuli  of 
the  Mississippi  valley  we  find  "  side  by  side,  in  the  same 
mounds,  native  copper  from  Lake  Superior,  mica  from 


78  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

the  Alleghanles,  shells  from  the  Gulf,  and  obsidian 
(perhaps  porphyry)  from  Mexico."  Fair  representations 
of  the  sea-cow  or  manatee  are  found  a  thousand  miles 
from  the  shores  inhabited  by  that  animal,  and  shells  of 
the  large  tropical  Pyrula  perversa  are  met  with  in  the 
tumuli  round  the  great  lakes,  two  thousand  miles  from 
home. 

In  Central  America  thousands  of  jadeite  implements 
occur,  but  no  locality  for  native  jadeite  has  yet  been 
discovered.^ 

On  the  whole,  however,  flint  was  the  stone  most 
frequently  used  in  Europe  ;  and  it  has  had  a  much  more 
important  influence  on  our  civilization  than  is  generally 
supposed.  Savages  value  it  on  account  of  its  hardness 
and  mode  of  fracture,  which  is  such  that,  with  practice,  a 
good  sound  block  can  be  chipped  into  almost  any  form 
that  may  be  required. 

In  many  cases,  blocks  and  pebbles  of  flint,  picked  up 
on  the  surface  of  the  ground,  were  used  in  the  manu- 
facture of  implements  ;  but  in  others  much  labour  was 
spent  in  obtaining  flint  of  good  quality.  A  good 
illustration  of  this  is  afibrded  by  the  so-called  Grimes' 
Graves,  near  Brandon,  which  have,  by  the  kind  per- 
mission of  Mr  Angerstein,  been  explored  by  Canon 
Greenwell  ;^  who  has  shown  them  to  be  excavations  made 
in  the  chalk  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  flint.  They  are 
254  in  number,  varying  in  diameter  from  20  to  60  feet, 
placed  irregularly,  generally  about  25  feet  apart,  and 
occupying  rather  more  than  20  acres.  They  have  been 
filled  up,  and  are  now  indicated  by  shallow  depressions, 
but  Canon  Greenwell  has  proved  that  the  pits  originally 
went  down  to  a  depth  of  about  40  feet,  when  they  branch 
out  into  passages,  often  communicating  with  one  another. 
On  the  east  side  is  a  mound,  apparently  consisting  of 
chalk  taken  from  the  first  pit  ;  after  which  it  would  seem 
that  when  a  new  pit  was  dug,  most  of  the  material  was 
thrown  down  the  old  shafts,  which  were  thus  filled  in,  to 

1  Wilson,  Prehistoric  Art,  Smithsonian  Institution,  1898,  p.  459. 
-   Trans.  Ethn.  Soc,  1870,  p.  419. 


FLINT  79 

within  a  few  feet  of  the  surface.  As  usual  in  the  Upper 
Chalk,  the  flint  is  disposed  in  layers,  which  differ  in 
quality,  while  maintaining  the  same  character  over  con- 
siderable areas.  It  may  be  remarked  that,  as  Sir  W. 
Fowler  has  well  pointed  out,^  Brandon,  "  though  situated 
in  a  bleak  and  barren  district,  has  evidently  been  a  place  of 
considerable  resort  from  a  very  remote  period — a  circum- 
stance which  can  only  be  attributed  to  the  abundance 
and  good  quality  of  the  flint  found  there."  Palaeolithic 
implements  abound  in  the  drift  gravels  ;  the  surface  is 
strewn  with  flint  flakes  and  fragments  of  flint  implements, 
and  at  the  present  time  it  is  the  only  place  in  England 
where  gun-flints  are  still  made.  For  this  purpose,  one 
particular  layer  of  flint  is  found  to  be  peculiarly  well 
adapted,  on  account  of  its  hardness  and  fineness  of  grain, 
while  another  layer,  less  suitable  for  gun-flints,  is  known 
as  "  wall-stone,"  being  much  used  for  building  purposes. 
Now  it  is  interesting  to  find  that,  even  in  very  early 
times,  the  merits  of  the  gun-flint  layer  were  well  known 
and  appreciated  ;  for  although  there  is  abundance  of 
flint  on  the  surface,  the  ancient  flint-men  sank  their 
shafts  down  past  the  layer  of  "  wall-stone,"  which  occurs 
at  a  depth  of  19^  feet,  to  the  gun-flint  layer,  which  at  the 
spot  in  question  is  39  feet  deep,  although  about  a  mile 
to  the  south-west,  where  it  is  now  worked,  it  is  much 
nearer  the  surface. 

At  present  the  workmen  excavate  the  chalk  both  above 
and  below  the  layer  of  flint  ;  but  in  the  old  galleries, 
perhaps  from  the  greater  difficulty  of  raising  the  material, 
the  chalk  below  the  flint-bed  was  in  no  case  removed. 
The  implements  used  in  making  these  excavations  were 
deers'  horns  ;  the  brow  tine  being  used  as  a  pick,  and  the 
others  removed.  Thus  treated,  a  deer's  horn  closely 
resembles  in  form  a  modern  pick,  but  of  course  it  is 
subject  to  rapid  wear  by  use,  which  accounts  for  the  large 
numbers  of  worn-out  implements  found  by  Canon  Green- 
well  among  the  rubbish. 

In  one  case  the  roof  of  a  passage  had  given  way.  On 
*  Trans.  Ethn.  Soc,  1870,  p.  437. 


8o  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

removing  the  chalk  which  had  fallen  in,  the  end  of  the 
gallery  came  in  view.  The  flint  had  been  hollowed  out 
in  three  places,  and  in  front  of  two  of  these  recesses, 
pointing  towards  the  half-excavated  stone,  were  two  deer- 
horn  picks,  lying  just  as  they  had  been  left,  still  coated 
with  chalk  dust,  on  which  was  in  one  place  plainly  visible 
the  print  of  the  workman's  hand.  The  tools  had 
evidently  been  left  at  the  close  of  a  day's  work  ;  during 
the  night  the  gallery  had  fallen  in,  and  they  had  never 
been  recovered. 

"  It  was  a  most  impressive  sight,"  says  Canon  Green- 
well,  "and  one  never  to  be  forgotten,  to  look,  after  a 
lapse,  it  may  be,  of  three  thousand  years,  upon  a  piece  of 
work  unfinished,  with  the  tools  of  the  workmen  still  lying 
where  they  had  been  placed  so  many  centuries  ago." 

Deer-horn  picks  have  been  found  in  other  localities, 
where  chalk  has  been  worked  for  flint,  and  also  in  the 
Cornish  Tin  Stream  Works. -^  Near  Spiennes  also,  in 
Belgium,  there  are  extensive  workings,  consisting  of  a 
system  of  shafts  and  galleries,  very  like  those  of  Grimes' 
Graves.  These  have  been  described  by  MM,  Malaise, 
Briart,  Cornet,  and  Houzeau  de  Lehaie.'^  Many  tools  of 
deers'  horns  have  been  obtained,  but  they  are  of  a  very 
difi^erent  character,  having  been  apparently  used  as 
hammers,  the  horn  being  cut  off^just  above  the  brow 
tine,  which   served  as  a  handle. 

In  addition  to  the  deer-horn  picks,  a  few  adze-shaped 
tools  of  flint  have  been  discovered  in  Grimes'  Graves, 
and  a  basalt  hatchet,  in  form  resembling  that  represented 
in  fig.  1 06,  but  with  an  oblique  cutting  edge,  the  marks 
of  which  were  distinctly  seen  upon  the  sides  of  the 
gallery,  showing  that  it  had  been  used  in  excavating  the 
chalk. 

As  already  mentioned,  it  was  important,  in  the  manu- 
facture of  flint  implements,  to  have  the  flint  of  a  good 
quality,  free  from  cracks  and  flaws,  and  easily  accessible. 
Hence,    places    which    fulfilled    these    conditions    were 

^  See,  for  instance,  Rep.  of  the  Roy.  Inst,  of  Cornwall,  1871,  p.  xxii. 
-  Mnn.  dc  la  Sac.  des  Sciences,  des  Arts,  etc.,  dii  Hainaut,  1866-7. 


GRIMES'   GRAVES— PRESSIGNY 


specially  frequented  in  ancient  times,  and  whole  districts 
were  supplied  from  these 
favoured  localities.  One 
of  the  most  remarkable  of 
these  manufactories  is  that 
discovered  by  Dr  Leveille 
at  Pressigny-le-Grand,  in 
France,  about  half-way  be- 
tween Tours  and  Poitiers. 
Here  there  is  an  abundance 
of  good  flint  of  a  honey 
colour,  and  of  even,  though 
coarse,  texture.  This  flint 
was  largely  used  in  ancient 
times :  the  fields  are  covered 
with  nuclei,  flakes,  etc. ;  and 
implements  made  here,  and 
easily  recognizable  by  the 
peculiar  colour,  have  been 
found  in  various  parts  of 
France,  and  even,  it  would 
seem,  in  Belgium.  I  have 
in  my  collection  a  block  of 
Pressigny  flint,  from  which 
a  flake  more  than  12  inches 
in  length  has  been  struck. 
The  large  nuclei  of  this 
form  (fig.  85),  which  from 
their  shape  are  known  as 
"  livres  de  beurre,"  have 
excited  a  good  deal  of  dis- 
cussion. They  are  generally 
from  8  to  13  inches  in 
length,  shaped  more  or  less 
like  a  boat,  with  a  broad 
butt  at  one  end,  tapering 
gradually  to  the  other.  The 
form  has  been  attained  by 
a  succession  of  lateral  chips,  at  right  angles  to  the  longer 

0 


Fig.  83. — Nucleus  from  which  long  flakes 
have  been  struck  in  Pressigny,  France. 
In  my  own  colleclion.  One-half  actual 
size. 


82 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


axis,  while  generally  one  or  more  longitudinal  flakes  have 
also  been  removed. 

Many  of  the  flint  flakes  were  certainly  never  intended 


Fig. 86. — Flint coreornucleus,     Figs.  87,  88,  89.— Three  views  of  a  flint  flake 


from  which  flakes  have  been 
struck,  Jutland.  One-half 
of  the  actual  size.  In  my 
own  collection. 


from  the  Kjokkenmodding  at  Fanneruji,  in 
Jutland,  one-half  of  the  actual  size,  a  repre- 
sents the  bulb  of  percussion,  which  is  also 
shown  by  the  shading  in  fig.  87.  In  my  own 
collection. 


to  serve  as  knives,  but  were  worked  up  into  saws,  awls, 
or  arrowheads.  Savages  use  flint  or  chert  in  this  manner, 
even  at  the  present  day  ;  and  the  Mexicans,  in  the  time 
of  Cortez,  used  precisely  similar  fragments  of  obsidian. 


THE   FRACTURE   OF   FLINT 


83 


The  operations  of  modern  gun-flint  makers  give  us  a 
very  clear  insight  into  the  mode  of  manufacture  of  ancient 
flint  implements,  and  the  process  is  one  of  considerable 
interest. 

If  we  take  a  rounded  hammer,  and  with  it  strike  on  a 
flat  surface  of  flint,  a  conoidal  fracture  is  produced,  the 
size  of  which  depends,  in  a  great  measure,  on  the  form 
of  the  hammer.  The  surface  of 
fracture  is  propagated  downwards 
through  the  flint,  in  a  diverging 
direction,  and  thus  embraces  a  cone, 
the  apex  of  which  is  at  the  point 
struck  by  the  hammer,  and  which 
can  afterwards  be  chipped  out  of 
the  mass.  Flint  cones,  formed  in 
this  way,  may  sometimes  be  found 
among  heaps  of  stones  broken  up 
to  mend  the  roads,  and  have  doubt- 
less often  been  mistaken  for  casts 
of  fossil  shells. 

If  a  blow  is  given,  not  on  a  flat 
surface,  but  at  the  angle  of  a  more 
or  less  square  flint,  the  fracture  is 
at  first  semiconoidal  or  nearly  so, 
but  after  expanding  for  a  short  dis- 
tance, it  becomes  flat,  and  may  be 
propagated  through  a  length  of  as 
much  as  13  inches,  thus  forming  a 
blade-like  flake  (figs.  86-94),  with 
a  triangular  cross  section  (fig.  95). 

The  consequence  is,  that  a  perfect  flint  flake  will  always 
have  a  small  bulb,  or  projection  (fig.  88,  a)y  at  the  butt 
end,  on  the  flat  side  ;  this  has  been  called  the  bulb, 
or  cone,  of  percussion.  After  the  four  original  angles 
of  a  square  block  have  been  thus  flaked  ofi^,  the  eight 
new  angles  may  be  treated  in  a  similar  manner,  and 
so  on.  Fig.  86  represents  a  block,  or  core,  from 
which  flakes  have  been  struck  ofi^.  A  very  long  flake 
in  my  collection,  from  Fannerup  in  Jutland,  is  figured. 


Fig.  90.  —  Arrow  -  shaped 
flake  from  Ireland.  It 
is  worked  up  at  the  butt 
end,  as  if  intended  for  a 
handle. 


84 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


one-half  of  the  natural  size,  in  figs.  87-89.  The  bulb 
is  shown  in  figs.  88,  ^,  and  89,  and  the  flake  has  been 
worked  into  a  point  at  the  end.  The  largest  flake  I  am 
acquainted  with  is  described  by  M.  de  Caneto,  in  the 
Revue  de  Gascoyne^  for  1865.  It  was  found  in  the 
commune  of  Pauilhaic,  and  is  13I  inches  in  length. 
Fig.  90  is  an  arrow-shaped  flake,  chipped  away  at  the 
base,  apparently  to  adapt  it  to  a  handle  or  shaft. 


m 


Figs.  91,  92,  93. — Flakes  from  a  Danish  shell-mound,  actual  size. 
In  my  own  collection. 

Figs.  91-94  represent  small  Danish  flakes  :  forms 
exactly  similar  may  be  found  in  any  country  where  the 
ancient  inhabitants  could  obtain  flint  or  obsidian.  In 
fig.  91  we  see  that  another  flake  had  been  previously 
taken  from  the  same  block.  Figs.  91,  92  represent 
flakes  of  which  the  points  have  been  broken  off\,  but  we 
see  along  their  whole  length  the  depression  caused  by 
the  previous  removal  of  other  flakes.  The  section  of 
such  a  flake  is,  therefore,  not  triangular,  as  in  fig.  95,  a^ 
but  four-sided,  as  in  fig,  95,  b.  Sometimes,  though  not 
often,  a  wide  flake  is  taken  off  in   such  a  way  as  to  over- 


FLINT   FLAKES 


85 


lap  two  previous  flakes,  as  in  the  case  of  the  one  repre- 
sented in  fig.  94.  In  this  instance,  the  section  is 
pentagonal  ;  the  flat  under-surface  remaining  always  the 
same,  but  the  upper  side  showing  four  facets. 

Easy  as  it  may  seem  to  make  such  flakes  as  these, 
a  little  practice  will  convince  anyone  who  attempts  to  do 
so,  that  a  certain  knack  is  required  ;  and 
a  gun-flint  maker  at  Brandon  told  me 
that  it  took  him  two  years  to  acquire  the 
art.  It  is  also  necessary  to  be  careful  in 
selecting  the  flint.  It  is  therefore  evident 
that  these  flakes,  simple  as  they  may 
appear,    are    always    the    work    of     man.    ^^^^:  94- --  Minute 

rJy'^  .  in-  1111         "int    flake     from 

lo  make  one,  the  limt  must  be  held 
firmly,  and  then  a  considerable  force 
must  be  applied,  either  by  pressure  or 
by  blows,  repeated  three  or  four  times,  but  at  least 
three,  and  given  in  certain  slightly  different  directions, 
with  a  certain  definite  force  ;  conditions  which  could 
scarcely  occur  by  accident  ;  so  that  a  flint  flake,  simple  as 
it  may  seem  to  the  untrained  eye,  is  to  the  antiquary  as 


Denmark,  actual 
size.  In  my  own 
collection. 


Fig.  95. 


-Sections  oi  flakes,  a  is  that  of  a  simple  triangular  flake  ;  d  is  that  of  a 
large  flat  flake  split  off  the  angle  from  which  the  smaller  flake  a  had 
been  previously  taken.     Consequently  the  section  is  four-sided. 


sure  a  trace  of  man  as  the  footprint  in  the  sand  was  to 
Robinson  Crusoe. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say  that  flakes  have  a  sharp 
cutting  edge  on  each  side,  and  might  therefore  be  at  once 
used  as  knives,  as  in  fig.  96,  which  represents  a  North 
American  two-bladed  knife  :  they  are  indeed  so  named  by 
some  archaeologists  ;  but  it  seems  to  me  more  convenient 
to  call  them   simply  flakes,  and  to  confine  the  name  of 


86 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


knife  to  implements  more  especially  intended  and  adapted 
for  cutting  purposes.  Fig.  98  represents  an  Australian 
flake,  and  fig.  97,  one  from  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 
Figs.  loi   and    102   represent  a  New  Caledonian  javelin, 

with    an    obsidian     flake 
(fig.    10 1)  for  a  head. 

I  give  for  comparison 
with  the  New  Caledonian 
javelin  a  figure  (fig.  9  9) 
of  an  Irish  flake  which  I 
found  some  years  ago  on 
the  shore  of  Loch  Neagh, 
in  Ireland.  It  will  be 
seen  that  both  are  flat 
on  one  side,  convex  on 
the  other,  triangular  in 
section,  broad  at  the  base, 
pointed  at  the  tip,  chipped 
up  at  the  base  so  that 
they  may  be  tied  on  to 
the  shaft,  and  trimmed 
on  one  side  near  the  tip, 
no  doubt  that  they  might 
fly  straight. 

Some  of  the  old  Spanish 
writers  in  Mexico  give  us 
a  description  of  the  manner 
in  which  the  Aztecs  ob- 
tained their  obsidian  flakes. 

Fig.  q6.  — North       Fig.  97.— Flake  from    „  j     1      u      • 

American  two-  the  Cape  of  Good     1  orqucmada,^  who  IS  COn- 

biaded     knife,         Hope,  actual  size,   firmed  bv  Hemandcz,  tells 

made     of     two  In  my  own  collec-  ''  „  ' 

flakes.  tion.  US  —  1    quotc     trom    Mr 

Tylor's  Anahiiac — "  they 
had,  and  still  have,  workmen  who  make  knives  of  a 
certain  block  stone  or  flint  (obsidian),  in  this  manner  : 
one  of  these  Indian  workmen  sits  down  upon  the 
ground,  and  takes  a  piece  of  this  black  stone,  which  is 
like  jet,  and  as  hard  as  flint.   .   .   .  The  piece  they  take  is 

'  Torquemada,  Moncvquia  Indiana,  Seville,  1615. 


MODERN   FLAKES 


87 


about  eight  inches  long,  or  rather  more,  and  as  thick  as 
one's  leg,  or  rather  less,  and  cylindrical  ;  they  have  a 
stick  as  large  as  the  shaft  of  a 
lance,  and  three  cubits  or  rather 
more  in  length,  and  at  the  end  of 
it  they  fasten  firmly  another  piece 
of  wood,  eight  inches  long,  to 
give    more    weight    to    this    part  ; 

then     pressing 

their  naked  feet 

together,     they 

hold   the  stone 

as  with  a  pair  of 

pincers,  or  the 

vice    of    a   car- 
penter's bench. 

They  take   the 

stick   (which  is 

cut  off  smooth 

at  the  end)  with 

both  hands,  and    Fig.    98.  —  Australian    flake. 

set  it  well  home        in  my  own  collection.  Actual 

size. 

agamst  the  edge 

of  the  front  of  the  stone,  which  also 
is  cut  smooth  in  that  part  ;  and  then 
they  press  it  against  their  breast,  and 
with  the  force  of  the  pressure  there 
flies  off  a  knife,  with  its  point  and 
edge  on  one  side,  as  neatly  as  if  one 
were  to  make  them  of  a  turnip  with  a 
sharp  knife,  or  of  iron  in  the  fire." 

Thus  it  appears   that   the  obsidian 

flakes  were  made,  not  by  blows,  but 

'Lc^  N^il"i,"t:ianT  by  Strong  pressure  ;  and  the  same  is 

In  my  own  collection,     the   casc  with   the    chcrt    implements 

of  the  Esquimaux,  according   to   the 

description  given    by  Sir  E.  Belcher,^      "  Selecting,"   he 

says,   "a   log   of    wood   in  which  a  spoon-shaped   cavity 

'   Tran^.  of  the  Rthnoloi^ical  Soc,  New  Series,  vol.  i.  p.  138. 


88 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


was  cut,  they  placed  the  splinter  to  be 
worked  over  it,  and  by  pressing  gently 
along  the  margin  vertically,  first  on  one 
side,  then  the  other,  as  one  would  set  a 
saw,  they  splintered  off  alternate  frag- 
ments, until  the  object,  thus  properly  out- 
lined, presented  the  spear  or 
arrow-head  form,  with  two 
cutting  serrated  sides."  A 
very  similar  account  is  also 
given  by  Lieutenant  Beck- 
with  of  the  method  used 
by  the  North  American 
Indians  ;  ^  among  whom 
certain  men  devoted  them- 
selves specially  to  the  manu- 
facture of  arrow-heads." 

Many  of  the  ruder  flint 
flakes  were,  no  doubt,  as 
Sir  John  Evans  has  sug- 
gested, used  for  strike  o' 
lights. 

Next   to    flint    flakes,    the 
axes,    wedges,   or    celts    are, 
perhaps,  of  most  importance. 
Fig.   ioo.  —  Pol-    The  largest  and  finest  speci- 
gouge!^  Bergen    "^^^s  are  found  in  Denmark  ; 
Museum.  one    in    my    possession,    of 

beautiful  white  flint,  is  13  in. 
long,  i|-  in.  thick,  and  ^2  '^^-  ^^  breadth. 
The  Seeland  axes  have  very  often,  indeed 
generally,  perpendicular  sides  ;  in  Jutland 
many  have  sloping  sides  ;  this  is  also 
usually  the  case  in  other  parts  of  North- 
western Europe.     Fig.  103,  and  a  very  large 

1  Rep07-t  of  the  Explorations  and  Surveys  of  the 
Pacific  Raih'oad,  1855,  vol.  ii.  p.  43. 

'^  Bancroft,  Native  Races  of  the  Pacific  States, 
vol.  i.  p.  342. 


Ser/,»„. 


klft\ 


I 

Fig.  ioi.  — Head 
of  New  Cale- 
donian javelin, 
one-half  of  ac- 
tual size.  In  my 
own  collection. 

Fig.  102. — New 
Caledonian 
javelin,  one- 
sixth  actual  size. 
In  my  own  col- 
lection. 


STONE   AXES 


89 


specimen  in  fig.  104  was  found 
in  the  same  tumulus  as  the 
very  fine  stone  chisel  (fig.  105). 
The  common  Danish  axe  or 
wedge  is  figured  in  fig.  103. 
Figs.  106  and  107  represent 
forms  which,  though  rare  in 
Seeland,  are  common  in  other 
parts  of  Europe.  Those  found 
in  Denmark  are  sometimes 
polished,  but  almost,  if  not 
quite  as  often,  left  rough.  On 
the  contrary,  in  other  parts  of 
North  -  Western  Europe,  the 
axes  are  usually  ground  to  a 
more  or  less  smooth  surface. 
That  some  were  held  in  the 
hand  is  evident,  but  that  others 
were  fixed  in  wooden  handles 
is  equally  clear,  in  many  speci- 
mens, from  the  presence  of 
peculiar  polished  spaces,  which 
have  been  produced  by  the 
friction  of  the  wood.  In 
almost  all  cases,  the  wooden 
handle  has  long  perished,  but 
there  are  one  or  two  instances 
on  record  in  which  it  has  been 
preserved.  Fig.  108  repre- 
sents a  stone  hatchet,  found 
some  years  ago,  in  the  county 
of  Monaghan ;  the  handle  was 
of  pine,  and  was  13^^  in,  long. 
A  somewhat  similar  specimen, 
found  in  Solway  Moor,  is  pre- 
served in  the  British  Museum. 
Fig.  109  represents  another 
stone  axe  in  its  handle  ;  this 
specimen  was  found  at  Concise, 


Fig.  103. — Danish  flint  axe. 
In  my  own  collection.  One- 
third  actual  size. 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


on  the  Lake  of  Neufchitel,  and 
closely  resembles  the  modern  African 
axe  (fig.  19).  In  the  latter  case,  how- 
ever, the  blade  is  of 
iron.  It  will  be  ob- 
served that  the  Swiss 
specimen  differs  from 
the  other  two  in  hav- 
ing an  intermediate 
piece  of  horn.  These 
horn  sockets  are  very 
numerous  in  some  of 
the  Swiss  lake-villages. 
To  us,  accustomed 
as  we  are  to  the  use 
of  metals,  it  seems 
difficult  to  believe  that 
such  rude  implements 
were  ever  made  use 
of  ;  we  know,  how- 
ever, that  many  sav- 
ages of  the  present  day 
have  no  better  tools. 
Yet,  with  axes  such  as 
these,  generally  with 
the  assistance  of  fire, 
they  will  cut  down 
large  trees,  and  hollow 
them  out  into  canoes. 
The  piles  used  in  the 
Swiss  Stone  Age  lake- 
habitations  were  evi- 
dently, from  the  marks 
of  the  cuts  on  them, 
prepared  with  the  help 
of  stone  axes  ;  and  in  Danish  peat- 
bogs, several  trees  have  been  found 
with  the  marks  of  stone  axes,  and  of 
fire,  upon   them,  and  in  one  or  two 


Fig.  105. — Danish 
chisel.  In  my 
own  collection. 
One-half  actual 
size. 


Fig.    104.  —  Danish    flint 
axe.     In  my  own  collec- 


tion, 
size. 


One-third    actual 


STONE   AXES 


91 


cases,  stone  celts  have  even  been  found  lying  at  the 
side.  In  the  excavations  known  as  Grimes'  Graves, 
again,  as  already  mentioned  {ante^  p.  80),  a  basalt  hatchet 
was  found,  which  had  evidently  been  used  for  excavat- 
ing the  gallery,  as  shown  by  the 
marks  still  distinctly  visible  on  the 
walls. 

One  use  of  the  North  American 
tomahawk  was  to  crush  bones  for 
the  sake  of  the  marrow  ;  ^  and  no 
W'        nil' '  M  doubt  the  ancient  stone  implements 

also  served  the  same  purpose. 
I?  'iLwMin^  I'"^  many  cases    the    axes    them- 

selves bear  unmistakable  marks  of 


Fig.  106. — Stone  celt  or 
hatchet.  Formed  of  fel- 
stone,  5f  inches  long  and 
2  broad. 


Fig.  107.— Stone  celt 
or  hatchet,  actual 
size.  Found  in  the 
riverShannon.  One 
of  the  smallest  yet 
found  in  Ireland. 


Fig.  108. — Stone  celt 
with  a  wooden 
handle,  Monaghan, 
Ireland. 


long  continued  use.  For  instance,  the  specimen  repre- 
sented in  figs.  1 10,  III,  has  no  doubt  once  been  much 
lonp-cr,  and  had  surfaces  consistino-  of  one  continuous 
sweep.  The  edge,  however,  having  been  destroyed  by 
use,  it  was  again  chipped  sharp  and  repolishcd,  the  new 
surface   meetin"-  the  old    one  at  a.      A  second   time    the 


'  James'  Expedition  to  the  Rocky  iMoutitaiiis,  vol.  i.  p.  193. 


92 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


edge  became  destroyed,  and  the  owner,  as  may  be  seen  in 

fig.  Ill,  has  commenced  the  formation  of  a  new  one. 
That  they  were  also  weapons  of  war  is  probable,  not 

only  on  a  priori  grounds,  but  also  because  they  have  fre- 
quently been  found  in  the  graves 
of  chiefs,  associated  with  bronze 
daggers.  About  the  year  1 809,  a 
large  cairn  in  Kirkcudbrightshire, 
popularly  supposed  to  be  the  tomb 
of  a  King  Aldus  M'Galdus,  was 
removed  by  a  farmer.  "  When 
the  cairn  had  been  removed,  the 
workmen  came  to  a  stone  coffin 
of  very  rude  workmanship,  and  on 
removing  the  lid,  they  found  the 
skeleton  of  a  man  of  uncommon 
size.  The  bones  were  in  such  a 
state  of  decomposition  that  the  ribs 
and  vertebrae  crumbled  into  dust 
on  attempting  to  lift  them.  The 
remaining  bones,  being  less  de- 
cayed, were  taken  out,  when  it  was 
discovered  that  one  of  the  arms 
had  been  almost  separated  from 
the  shoulder  by  the  stroke  of  a 
stone  axe,  and  that  a  fragment  of 
the  axe  still  remained  in  the  bone. 
The    axe    was    of    greenstone,    a 

Fig.    io9.-Stone  celt  with    material  which  docs  not  occur  in 
wooden  handle,    one-third    that  part  of  Scotland.     There  were 

ctr'  F,"m  IZ'  "'  ''°°"    =115°  f°""d  with  this  Skeleton  a  ball 
of  flint,  about  three  inches  in  dia- 
meter, which   was   perfectly  round   and   highly  polished, 
and  the  head  of  an  arrow,  also  flint,  but  not  a  particle 
of  any  metallic  substance."  ^ 

We  know  also  the  North  American  stone  axe  or  toma- 
hawk served  not  merely  as  an  implement,  but  also  as  a 

1  New  Statist.  Ace,  Kirhciidbriohtshire,  vol.  iv.  p.  332.     Quoted   by 
Wilson,  Prehi.st.  Ann.  of  Scotland,  2nd  edit.,  vol.  i.  p.  187. 


PIERCED    STONE   HATCHETS 


93 


weapon,  being    used   both    in    the    hand   and    also   as    a 
missile.^ 

Another  class  of  stone  hatchets  are  those  which  are 
pierced  for  the  handle.  From  the  nature  of  flint  these 
were  scarcely  ever  made  of  that  material.  There  are, 
however,  in  Copenhagen,  two  such  hatchets,  in  which 
advantage  has  been  ingeniously  taken  of  a  natural  hole  in 
the  flint.     In  many  kinds  of  hard  stone,  however,  it  is 


Figs,  no,  in.— Danish  axe,  re-ground.     One-half  actual  size. 
From  my  own  collection. 

quite  possible  to  drill  a  hole  by  means  of  a  cylinder  of 
bone  or  horn,  with  a  little  sand  and  water  ;  yet  it  is  very 
doubtful  whether  this  class  of  implements  truly  belong  to 
the  Stone  Age.  The  pierced  axes  are  generally  found 
in  graves  of  the  Bronze  Period,  and  it  is  most  probable 
that  this  mode  of  attaching  the  handle  was  used  very 
rarely,  if  at  all,  until  the  discovery  of  metal  had  rendered 
the  process  more  easy  than  could  have  been  the  case 
previously. 

The   "scrapers"    (figs.    112,    113)    are   oblong   stones 

'  Colden's  History  of  the  Five  Nations,  vol.  i.  p.  10. 


94 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


rounded  at  one  end,  which  is  brought  to  a  bevelled  edge 
by  a  series  of  small  blows.  One  side  is  flat,  the  other, 
or  outer,  one  is  more  or  less  convex  ;  sometimes  they 
have  a  short  handle,  which  gives  them  very  much  the 
appearance  of  a  spoon.  They  have  been  found  in 
England,  France,    Denmark,    Ireland,    Switzerland,    and 


Fig.  112. — Skin-scraper  from  Bour- 
deilles  in  the  south  of  France, 
actual  size.     Found  by  me. 


Fig.  113. — Ditto,  underside. 


Other  countries.  They  vary  from  one  to  four  inches  in 
length,  and  from  half  an  inch  to  two  inches  in  breadth. 
An  Esquimaux  scraper  used  in  preparing  skins  is  repre- 
sented in  figs.  114— 116.  These  modern  specimens  are 
of  exactly  the  same  form  as  the  old  ones. 

It  is  curious,  that  while  these  spoon-shaped  scrapers 
are  so  common  in  Europe,  they  are  very  rare,  if  indeed 
they  occur  at  all,  in  North  America  south  of  the  Esqui- 
maux region. 


SHELL-MOUND   AXES 


95 


To  the  small,  triangular  "axes"  (figs.  117- 119), 
which  are  very  characteristic  of  the  KjGkkenmSddings, 
as  well  as  of  the  coast-finds,  I  have  applied  the  name  by 
which  they  are  usually  known,  but  without  wishing  to 
prejudge  the  question  as  to  their  purpose.  They  are 
flat  on  one  side,  and  more  or  less  convex  on  the  other  ; 
rudely  triangular  or  quadrangular  in  shape,  with  the 
cutting  edge  at  the  broader  end  ;  and  from  2^  in.  to 
5|-  in.  in  length,  with  a  breadth  of  i|-  in.  to  2^  in.  They 
are    never    ground,   and   the   cutting  edge,   though    not 


^ 


Figs.  114,  115,  116. — Skin-scraper  used  by  the  modern  Escjuimaux  of  the  Polar 
basin,  within  Behring's  Straits,  actual  size.  It  was  fastened  into  a  handle 
of  fossil  ivory.      In  the  Christy  Museum. 

sharp,  is  very  strong,  as  it  is  formed  by  a  plane,  meeting 
the  flat  side  at  a  very  obtuse  angle.  Professor  Steenstrup 
doubts  whether  these  curious  and  peculiar  implements 
were  ever  intended  for  axes,  and  regards  them  as  having 
been,  in  all  probability,  mere  weights  for  fishing-lines,  in 
support  of  which  view  he  figures  some  not,  perhaps,  very 
dissimilar  stone  objects,  used  for  that  purpose  by  the 
Esquimaux.  The  so-called  edge,  in  his  opinion,  neither 
has  nor  could  have  been  used  for  cutting,  but  is  merely 
the  result  of  that  form  which  was  found  by  the  fishermen 
to  be  most  convenient.  He  also  calls  attention  to  the 
polished  facets  on  their  surfaces,  which  he  regards  as 
affording  strong  support  to  his  opinion. 


96 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


It  must  be  at  once  admitted  that  there  are  some  of 
these  "  axes "  which  could  never  have  been  used  for 
cutting,  but  these  may  be  regarded  as  imperfect,  and  are 
certainly"  not  to  be  taken  as  normal  specimens.  It  is  true 
that  the  two  surfaces,  constituting  the  edge,  form  a  very 
obtuse  angle  with  one  another,  but  we  must  remember 
that  if  this  detracts  from  the  sharpness,  it  adds  greatly  to 
the  strength.     Moreover,  the  angle  is  almost  exactly  the 


Fig.  117. — Flint  axe  from  the 
shell-mound  at  Meilgaard,  in 
Jutland,  actual  size.  Upper 
surface. 


Fig.  118. — Ditto,  under 
surface. 


Fig.  119.- 

Ditto, 
side  view. 


same  as  that  which  we  find  in  the  adze  of  the  New 
Zealanders  and  other  South  Sea  Islanders.  Figs.  120—122 
represent  a  recent  adze,  brought  by  the  Rev.  R.  Taylor 
from  New  Zealand,  and  now  in  the  British  Museum,  which 
very  closely  resembles  the  typical  axes  of  the  Kjokken- 
moddings.  The  edge,  indeed,  is  polished,  but  is  after 
all  not  smoother  than  the  natural  fracture  of  the  flint. 
The  projection  on  the  under  side  of  the  Danish  specimen 
(fig.  119)  is  accidental,  and  due  to  some  peculiarity  in  the 
flint.     This  face  is  usually  as  flat  in  the  Danish  specimens 


CHISELS 


97 


as  in  those  from  New  Zealand.  Axes  of  the  same  type 
have  been  found  by  General  Pitt  Rivers  in  Wiltshire  ; 
they  also  occur  in  France,  Egypt,  and  in  the  shell-mounds 
of  Japan. 

The  chisels  (fig.  105)  resemble  the  Danish  axes  in 
having  perpendicular  sides,  but  they  are  narrower,  and 
are  almost  always  ground  to  a  smooth  surface.  Many  of 
them  are  slightly  hollowed  on  one  side,  as  in  fig.  123. 


Fig.  120. — Modern  New  Zealand  adze, 
actual  size.  Upper  surface.  In  the 
British  Museum. 


Fig.  121. — Ditto,  under  surface. 


Fig.  122.— 
Ditto,  sicit 
view. 


Certain  flat,  semicircular  flint  instruments  are  common 
in  Denmark  and  Scandinavia,  but  (with  one  exception) 
rarely,  if  ever,  found  elsewhere.  The  convex  edge  was 
fastened  into  a  handle  of  wood,  the  marks  of  which  are 
still,  in  many  cases,  plainly  visible.  The  other  edi^e, 
which  is  either  straight  or  concave,  is  generally  provided 
with  a  number  of  teeth,  giving  it  more  or  less  resemblance 
to  a  saw.  In  some  cases  it  is  so  much  worn  away  by 
use,  that  the  implement  takes  the  form  of  a  new  moon 
or  of  a  boomerang.  The  edge  is  in  many  cases  quite 
polished,  evidently   by  continuous  friction  against  a  soft 

7 


98 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


substance.  I  say  a  soft  substance,  because  the  polished 
part  overlaps  on  both  sides,  and  passes  in  between  the 
teeth  of  the  saw,  which  would  not  have  been  otherwise 
the  case.  It  is  probable  that  the 
semi-lunar  instruments  were  fixed  in 
wooden  handles,  and  then  used  in 
cleaning  skins.  Similarly-shaped  in- 
struments are  even  now  used  as 
knives  by  the  Esquimaux  women, 
under  the  name  of  Ooloos.  It  might 
be  convenient  to  apply  & 

this  term  to  the  ancient  ^a 

Danish  specimens.  W^ 

The  so-called  "awls"  '\  . 

are  rude  pieces  of  flint,  "^'n  ' 

or  flakes  worked  up  at 
one  place  by  a  number 
of  small  chips  to  a  point 
(fig.  195).  Though 
not  very  sharp,  they  are 
pretty  strong. 

The    spear-heads  are 

Fig.  123.— Hollow  chisel    vcry  Variable  in  size  and 

In  my    {qj-jjj  .     somc    of   them 

are  scarcely  distinguish- 
able from  large  arrow-heads  ;  others  are 
much  larger.  Some  are  so  rude  that  it 
is  questionable  whether  they  were  finished, 
while  others  are  marvellous  specimens  of 
ancient  art.  One  in  my  possession  is  12  in. 
in  length,  i^  in,  in  breadth,  and  of  wonder- 
fully beautiful  workmanship.  It  is  one  of 
six,  found  together  in  the  chamber  of  a 
large  tumulus  in  the  island  of  Moen. 

The  daggers  (figs.  124-128)  are  often 
marvels  of  skill  in  flint-chipping.  The  form  so  closely 
resembles  that  of  metallic  daggers,  that  some  antiquaries 
are  inclined  to  regard  them  as  copies  of  bronze  daggers, 
and  therefore  as  not  belonging  to  the  Stone  Age.     The 


from  Denmark, 
own  colleclion. 


Fig.    124.  ■ 
dagger 
State    Museum, 
Stockholm. 


DAGGERS,   SLING-STONES,   TOOL-STONES  99 


localities  in  which  they  have  been  found  do  not,  how- 
ever, offer  any  support  to  this  hypothesis.  Another  form 
of  flint  weapon  (fig.  129),  which  is  common  in  Den- 
mark, has  a  handle  like  that  of  the  last  form,  but  instead 
of  a  blade,  it  ends  in  a  point,  and  sug- 
gests the  idea  that  if  the  tip  of  the 
dagger  had  been  accident- 
ally broken  off,  or  the 
blade  rendered  narrow  by 
wear  and  tear,  the  rest  of 
the  weapon  might  have 
been  worked  up  into  a 
poniard,  and  thus  utilized. 
In  both  these  classes  the 
crimping  along  the  edges 
of  the  handle  is  very 
curious. 

The  sling-stones  are  of 
two  kinds.  The  first  are 
merely  rough  pieces  of 
flint  reduced  by  a  few 
blows  of  a  hammer  to  a 
convenient  size  and  form. 
But  for  the  situations  in 
which  they  are  found, 
these  might  almost  be  re- 
garded as  natural  frag- 
ments. Professor  Steen- 
strup  is  now  disposed  to 
think  that  many  of  them 
were  used  as  sink-stones 
for  nets,  but  that  some 
have  really  served  as  sling-stones  seems 
to  be  indicated  by  their  presence  in  the 
Peat-mosses,  which  it  is  difficult  to  account  for  in  any 
other  way.  The  other  kind  of  sling-stones  are  round, 
flatfish  flint  disks,  some  of  which  are  beautifully  made. 

The  oval  tool-stones  (fig.  130),  or  "  Tilhuggersteens  "  of 
the  northern  antiquaries,  are  oval  or  egg-shaped  stones. 


Fig.  125.  —  Flint 
dagger  in  the  State 
Museum,  Stock- 
holm. 


Fig.  126.  —  Flint 
dagger  in  the 
State  Museum, 
Stockholm. 


lOO 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


more  or  less  indented  on  one  or 
both  surfaces.  Their  use  is  not 
at  present  thoroughly  understood. 
Some  antiquaries 
suppose  that  they 
were  held  between 
the  finger  and 
thumb,  and  used  as 
hammers  or  chip- 
pers.  If,  however, 
a  large  series  is 
obtained,  it  will  be 
found  that  the 
depression  varies 
greatly  in  depth, 
and  that  sometimes 
the  stone  is  com- 
pletely perforated, 
which  favours  the 
view  of  those  who 
regard  these  im- 
plements as  ring- 
stones  for  nets,  or 
small  hammer- 
heads. It  is  very 
doubtful  whether 
these  implements 
really  belong  to  the 
Stone  Age. 

Other  stones,  in 
which     the    longer 
Fig.  i27.-Danish    ^xis  is  encircled  by 
dagger.    In  my    a  groovc,  appear  to 

own  collection.        ,    °      ,  '  i  ,         , 

have  been  evidently 
intended  as  sink-stones  for  nets. 

The  arrow-heads  may  be  divided 
into  six  varieties.  Firstly,  the 
triangular  (fig,  131),  which  fre- 
quently had  a  notch  on  each  side 


Fig.  128. — Flint  dagger,  one- 
half  of  the  actual  size.  This 
beautiful  specimen  was  found 
in  a  large  tumulus  with  a 
second  imperfect  dagger,  a 
rude  flint  core,  an  imperfect 
crescent-shaj^ed  knife,  one  or 
two  flakes,  two  amber  beads, 
and  some  bits  of  pottery. 
Denmark.  In  my  own  col- 
lection. 


ARROW-HEADS 


lOI 


Fig.  130. — Oval  tool- 
stone. 


to  receive  the  string  which  attached  it  to  the  shaft  ; 
secondly,  that  which  is  hollowed  out  or  indented  at  the 
base,  as  in  fig.  132  ;  thirdly,  the  stemmed  arrow,  which 
has  a  tang  or  projection  for  sinking  into 
the  shaft  ;  fourthly,  when  the  wings  are 
prolonged  on  each  side,  this  passes  into 

the    barbed  arrow    (fig.  

133)  ;  fifthly,  we  have 
the  leaf-shaped  form,  a 
beautiful  example  of 
which  is  represented  in 
fig.  134.  Lastly,  there 
is  a  form  resembling 
figs.  117— 119,  but  in  miniature.  This 
form  is  not  confined  to  Northern  Europe, 
but  occurs  elsewhere,  as  for  instance  in 
Egypt,  where  one,  still 
fixed  to  the  shaft,  has 
been  discovered  in  a 
tomb.^  True  arrow- 
heads are  generally  about 
an  inch  in  length,  but 
they  pass  gradually  into 
the  javelin,  and  from 
that  into  the  spear-head. 
The  great  similarity  of 
arrow-heads,  even  from 
the  most  distant  locali- 
ties, may  be  seen  in  figs. 
135,  136,  and  137,  which  represent  speci- 
mens from  France,  North  America,  and 
Tierra  del  Fuego  respectively. 

The  different  forms  were  perhaps  in 
use  in  different  tribes,  but  more  probably  they  are  due 
to  the  variety  of  purposes  for  which  they  were  intended  ; 
thus  in  North  America  the  war  arrows  taper  to  the  end, 
so  that  when  the  shaft  is  drawn  out,  the  head  remains 
in   the   wound  ;    while   hunting  arrows    are  expanded  at 

'  Bayc,  Pohitcs  dc  Jlcche  en  Silcx,  p.  1 39,  1 874. 


Fig.  131. — Triangulnr 
flint  arrow  -  head, 
actual  size. 


Fig.  129.  —  Another 
form  of  flint  dagger. 
Also  from  Den- 
mark. In  my  own 
collection. 


I02 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


Fig.  132. — Indented 
flint  arrow  -  head, 
actual  size. 


Fig.  133. — Barbed 
flint  arrow-head, 
actual  size. 


the  end,  so  that  the  head  is  drawn  out  with  the  shaft. 
The  Bygas,  an  aboriginal  tribe  of  Central  India,  according 
to  Forsyth,  make  the  same  distinction.^ 
Among  other  tribes,  the  lance-shaped 
arrows  are  used  in  hunting,  barbed  arrow- 
heads in  war.^  The  Negritos  of  the 
Philippine  Islands  have 
three  kinds  of  arrows. 
One,  with  a  separate  head- 
piece, for  wild  boars,  one 
for  birds.  The  use  of  the 
third  is  not  stated.  Every 
man  carries  one  of  each 
kind.^  The  manufacture 
of  these  arrows  requires  much  time  and 
skill  :  "Under  the  most  favourable  circum- 
stances," Messrs  Blackmore  and  Dodge 
tell  us,  "  the  most  skilful  Indian  work- 
man cannot  hope  to  complete  more 
than  a  single  arrow  in  a 
hard  day's  work."* 

There  are  various 
other  kinds  of  flint  im- 
plements such  as  ham- 
mers, saws  (fig.  138), 
harpoons,  etc.,  but — 
omitting  for  the  pre- 
sent the  earlier,  or  drift 
types — the  above  are 
the  principal  forms  of 
stone  weapons  and  implements. 

Horns  and  bones,  besides  being  em- 
ployed  for   handling   the   stone  axes, 
were  much  used  as  the  material  of  vari- 
ous simple  implements,  and  those  of  the  stag  appear  to 


P'lG.  135. — French 
arrow-head,  ac- 
tual size.  In  my 
own  coUeclion. 


Fig.  134. — Leaf-shaped 
flint  arrow-head,  actual 
size.  Showinij  the 
gradual  passage  into 
the  spear-head. 


^  Highlands  of  Ceniral  India,  p.  361. 

-  Murray,  Travels  in  North  Af?ierica,  vol.  i.  p.  385. 

^  Schadenberg,  Z.  f.  Ethn.,  1880. 

'  Hunting  Grounds  of  the  Great  West,  Dodge  and  Blackmore,  p.  349. 


BONE   IMPLEMENTS 


103 


have  been  preferred,  as  being  the  hardest.  The  commonest 
bone  implement  is  the  pin  or  awl  (fig.  139)  ;  not  much 
less  numerous  are  certain  oblong  chisel- 
like implements  (fig.  140),  the  use  of  which 
it  is  not  easy  to  determine.  Ribs  split 
open,  and  pointed  at  one  end,  are  some- 
times found,  and  have  been  supposed  by 
some  archaeologists  to  have  been  used  in 
the  manufacture  of  pottery  ;  others  refer 
them  to  a  later  period,  and 
think  they  were  used  in 
preparing  flax.  Fish  were 
caught  with  bone  harpoons 
(figs.  141,1 42).  The  latter 
figure  represents  a  bone  fig.  137.— Fuegian 
harpoon    belonging:   to   the       arrow-head,   ac- 

I  CD      cj  tu3.1  Size, 

Reindeer  Period,  which  will 
be    described    in    the    chapter    on    Caves. 
Fig.  136.— North-    Arrow-heads,    spear- heads,    and    chisels, 

American  arrow-        ■•  t"  xt         i 

head,  actual  size,  also  occur.  tig.  1 43  represents  a  North 
In  my  own  col-  American  bone  chisel  used  in  dressing  deer- 
skins for  taking  ofi^the  hair.  Pierced  teeth 
also  were  not  unfrequently  worn  as  amulets.  Frag- 
ments of  tissue  made  of  flax  have  been  met  with  in 
some  of  the  Swiss  lake-dwell- 
ings. Wool  may  also  have 
been  used,  and  no  doubt  the 
skins  of  animals. 

Stone  implements  are  fre-       \/         '"^t^*^^ 
quently  found  on  the  surface    pi,,.  138. —  Stone  saw  in  wooden 

of     the    ground,    or     are     dug         handle,  Switzerland,  one-half  actual 

up  in  agricultural  and  other 

operations.  But  those  found  singly  in  this  manner  have 
comparatively  little  scientific  value  :  it  is  when  they 
occur  in  considerable  numbers,  and  especially  when 
associated  with  other  remains,  that  they  serve  to  throw 
much  light  on  the  manners  and  customs  of  ancient  times. 
As  already  mentioned,  the  tumuli,  the  lake  habitations, 
and     the     shell-mounds    are     specially    valuable    in    this 


I04 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


respect,  but  I  must  also  say  a  few  words  about  the 
"  coast-finds  "  of  the  Danish  antiquaries.  "  Coast-finds  " 
are  discoveries  of  rude  flint  inplements, 
which  are  found  lying  in  large  numbers 
on  certain  spots  along  the  whole  line  of 
coast.  Owing  probably  to  the  elevation 
of  the  land  which  has  taken  place  in 
Jutland  since  the  Stone  Age,  some  of  them 
are  now  a  considerable  distance  from  the 
present  water-line.  Some,  on  the  other 
hand,  are  at  low  levels  ;  one,  for  instance, 
close  to  the  railway-station  at  Korsor,  is 
exposed  only  at  low  tide,  and  others  are 
always  covered.  The  "  coast-finds,"  how- 
ever, belong  probably  to 
different  classes.  Thus, 
one  at  Anholt  was  evidently 
a  workshop  of  flint  imple- 
ments, as  is  shown  by  the 
character  of  the  chips,and  by 
the  discovery  of  more  than 
sixty  flint  cores.  Those, 
on  the  contrary,  which,  even 
at  the  present  day,  are  under 

Fig.    no.  —  Bone  .  u   i  i  • 

pin  or  aw]  from    ^atcr,  wcre  probably  so  m 

Scotland, actual  old  timcs,  and  as  there  are 
no  traces  of  lake-habitations 
in  Denmark,  it  has  been  supposed  that 
they  were  the  places  where  the  fishermen 
used  to  drag  their  nets.  It  is  still  usual 
to  choose  particular  spots  for  this  pur- 
pose, and  it  is  evident  that  many  of  the 
rude  objects  used  in  fishing,  especially 
of  the  stones  employed  as  net-weights, 
would  there  be  lost.  I  am  rather  disposed  to  regard 
them  as  camping  stations.  The  objects  discovered  are 
just  what  might  have  been  expected  under  these  circum- 
stances. They  consist  of  irregular  flint  chippings,  net- 
weights  or  sling-stones,  flakes,  scrapers,  awls,  and  axes. 


Fig,  140.  —  Bone 
chisel,  actual  size. 
From  Wangen, 
on  the  Lake  of 
Constance.  In 
my  own  collec- 
tion. 


FLINT-FINDS 


105 


These  six  different  classes  of  objects  have  been  found 

in  most,  if  not  all,  of  the  coast-finds,  though 

in      different      proportions. 

To    give    an    idea    of    the 

numbers     in     which     they 

occur,  I  may  mention  that 

Professor  Steenstrup  and  I 

gathered,  in  about  an  hour, 

at   Froelund,   near   KorsOr, 

141    flakes,    84   weights,   5 

axes,   I    scraper,  and  about 

1 50  flint  chips  ;  while  at  a 

similar  spot,  near  Aarhuus 

in  Jutland,  I  myself  picked 

up,  in  two  hours  and  a  half, 

76   weights,  40    flakes,   39 

scrapers,     17    awls,    and    a 

considerable  number  of  flint 

chips. 

In  many  instances,  a  layer 

of    sand    has    accumulated 

over  and  thus  protected  the 

flint  fragments.     This  was 

the  case  with  both  the  above- 
mentioned   coast-finds,  one 

of    which    was    exposed    in 

draining  the  land,  the  other 

in  a  railway  cutting.     Some- 
times a  change  of  conditions 

will  remove  the  light  sand, 

and  leave  the  heavier  stones, 

which  again  in  other  cases 

have  lain  apparently  undis- 
turbed and  exposed  from  the 

first ;  and  in  such  instances 

the  spots  are  sometimes  so  thickly  strewn 

with  white  flints  that  they  may  be  distin- 
guished by  their  colour,  even  at  a  considerable  distance. 
We  could  not  expect  to  find  similar  coast-finds  on  our 


»i: 


Fig.  142.— Ancient 
bone  harpoon, 
actual  size.  Dor- 
dogne. 


Fig.  141. — Bone 
harpoon,  actual 
size. 


io6 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


Southern  and  Eastern  shores,  because  even  in  historical 
times  the  sea  has  encroached  gently.  "  Flint-finds," 
however,  resembling  in  many  respects  these  Danish 
"  coast-finds,"  are  not  unknown  in  this  country,  or  on 
the  Continent.  They  appear  to  indicate  the  position  of 
ancient  villages  ;  and  in  some  cases,  as, 
for  instance,  those  of  Grimes'  Graves  and 
Pressigny,  are  evidently  places  selected  for 
the  manufacture  of  stone  implements  on 
account  of  the  good  quality  of  the  flint. 
Nor  are  these  discoveries  confined  to  Europe. 
Mr  Busk  and  Mr  Langham  Dale  have  met 
with  a  very  similar  assemblage  of  flakes, 
etc.,  on  the  Cape  Flats,  at  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope.^  I  have  myself  found  them 
in  abundance  on  the  high  ground  along  the 
Nile  valley.^ 

Throughout  the  whole  of  America, 
Australia,  and  Polynesia,  indeed,  stone  im- 
plements were  in  use  down  to  a  comparatively  modern 
period,  and  in  many  parts  are  so  still.  In  Asia  and 
Africa,  on  the  contrary,  as  in  Europe,  stone  implements 
have,  for  the  most  part,  been  long  abandoned.  Still 
there  also,  as,  for  instance,  in  Algeria,  Egypt,  Somaliland 
and  at  the  Cape,  in  Palestine  and  Assyria,  in  India  and 
Japan,  stone  implements  have  been  discovered,  showing 
that  these  countries,  like  Europe,  have,  undoubtedly, 
passed  through  an  Age  of  Stone. 


Fig.  143. — Bone 
scraper,  North 
America. 


1  Trails.  Eth7i.  Soc,  1869,  p.  51. 


'^  Jour.  Aiitkrop.  histitute.,  1871. 


k 


CHAPTER   V 


MEGALITHIC    MONUMENTS    AND    TUMULI 


All  over  Europe,  we  might  indeed  say  all  over  the  world, 
wherever   they  have  not  been  destroyed  by  the  plough 


■v^-^ 


Fig.  144. — A  tumulus  of  the  Stone  Age,  at  Roddinge  in  Denmark. 
It  contains  two  chambers. 

or  the  hammer,  we  find  relics  of  prehistoric  times — 
camps,  fortifications,  dykes,  tumuli,  menhirs  or  standing 
stones,   cromlechs    or    stone    circles,   dolmens  ^    or   stone 

'  In  this  country,  it  has  become  the  custom  to  reverse  these  two  names. 
Cromlech,  however,  is  derived  from  "crom,"  a  circle,  and  "lech,"  stone  ; 

107 


io8 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


chambers,  etc.,  many  of  which  astonish  us  by  their 
magnitude,  so  that  of  some  of  them  we  may  almost  say, 
with  Sir  Thomas  Browne,  that  "  these  mountainous 
monuments  may  stand,  and  are  like  to  have  the  same 
period  with  the  earth  "  ;  while  they  all  excite  our  interest 
by  the  antiquity  of  their  origin,  and  the  mystery  by 
which  they  are  surrounded.^ 

In  our  own  island  the  smaller  tumuli  may  be  seen  on 
almost  every  down  ;  in  the  Orkneys  alone  it  is  estimated 
that   more  than   2000    still    remain.     On    the    Wiltshire 

Downs  there  are  over  1000  ; 

in  France  there  are  4000 
dolmens,  6000  ^  menhirs, 
and  450  stone  circles  ;  in 
Denmark  they  are  even 
more  abundant  ;  they  are 
found  all  over  Europe,  from 
the  shores  of  the  Atlantic 
to  the  Oural  mountains  ; 
in  Asia  they  are  scattered 
over  the  great  steppes,  from 
the  borders  of  Russia  to  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  and  from  the  plains  of  Siberia  to  those 
of  Hindostan  ;  the  entire  plain  of  Jelalabad,  says  Masson, 
"  is  literally  covered  with  tumuli  and  mounds."  ^  In 
America  we  are  told  that  they  are  to  be  numbered  by 
thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  ;  nor  are  they  wanting 


Fig.  145. — Ground  plan  of  foregoing. 


and  dolmen  from  "daul,"  a  table,  and  "maen,"  a  stone.  They  should 
therefore,  I  consider,  be  used  as  in  the  text.  I  may  add  that  "  menhir," 
a  standing  stone,  is  derived  from  "  maen,"  stone,  and  "  hir,"  long. 

'  During  the  last  fifteen  years,  several  important  contributions  have 
been  made  to  our  knowledge  of  ancient  British  burial  customs.  I  may 
refer  especially  to  Gen.  Pitt  Rivers'  researches  among  the  Antiquities 
of  Wilts/lire ;  to  Greenwell  and  Rolleston's  British  Barrows  ;  Jewitt's 
Grave  Mounds^  and  their  Contents  ;  Borlase's  Nenia  Cornubice  ;  Warne's 
Celtic  Tumuli  of  Dorset ;  a.n(ii\lor\a.s&'s  Dolmens  of  Ireland.  Fergusson's 
Rude  Stone  Momiments^  also,  though  written  in  support  of  a  theory  which 
is,  I  think,  erroneous,  contains  a  valuable  summary  of  our  knowledge  of 
megalithic  monuments. 

2  Delechette,  p.  431. 

^  fourneys  iti  Baloochistan.,  Afghanistan^  etc.,  vol.  ii.  p.  164.  See  also 
p.  155,  and  vol.  ii.  pp.  1 1  i-i  13. 


TUMULI,   DOLMENS,    STONE   CIRCLES    109 

in    Africa,^  where  the    Pyramids   themselves  exhibit  the 
most  magnificent  development  of  the  same  idea  ;  indeed 


Fig,  146. — Stone  circle,  Denmark, 


the  whole  world  is  studded  with  the  burial-places  of  the 
dead.     Many  of  them,  indeed,  are  small,  but  some  are 


Fig.  147.  —  Dolmen,  Denmark. 


very  large,  such  as,  for  instance,  those  of  Odin,  Thor, 
and  Freya,  at  Upsala.  Near  Avebury,  in  Wiltshire,  is 
(see  p.  129)  Silbury  Hill,  the  greatest  tumulus  in  Europe, 

'  See,  for  instance,  Lhn/igs tone's  Miss.  Travels.,  pp.  219,  304. 


I  lO 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

and   thirty   feet,   and 


having   a   height   of   one   hundred 
covering  five  and  a  half  acres. 

The  standing  stones,  or  "  menhirs,"  also  were  no  doubt 
generally  erected  in  memorial  of  some  particular  event, 
the  majority  being,  in  fact,  the  tombstones  of  Archaic 
times. 


Fig.  148.  —  Hrennaubtown  Dolmen,  Cw.  Dublin.  Photo  by  W.  II.  Matthews, 
F.i<. S.A.I.  Dimensions  of  covering-stone  :  length,  15I  feet  ;  breadth,  15J  ; 
the  thickness  varies  from  3  feet  at  the  east  end  to  5  feet  at  its  west. 

Tumuli  were,  as  a  rule,  burial  mounds,  but  sometimes 
memorials,  as  in  Fiji. 

In  addition  to  these  memorials  of  the  past,  ancient 
camps  and  fortifications  crown  many  of  our  hills. 

In  parts  of  Scotland  some  of  the  old  hill  fortresses 
present  the  remarkable  peculiarity,  first  noticed  by  Mr 
John  Williams  in  1777,  of  having  been  subjected  to 
considerable  heat.  Until  1837  these  vitrified  forts  were 
supposed  to  be  peculiar  to  our  island,  but  in  that  year 
Professor  Zippe  called  attention  to  the  existence  of  similar 


TUMULI    AT   UPSALA 


II  r 


112  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

remains  in  Bohemia,  and  since  that  time  vitrified  forts  have 
been  discovered  in  various  parts  of  France  and  Germany.-^ 


Fio.  150. — The  devil's  arrows,  Boroughbridge — Northern  and  Central  menhirs. 
Photo  by  W.  II.  Matthews,  F.R. S.A.I. 

Lastly,  the  country  is  intersected  by  great  dykes,  or 
lines   of   embankment — such,  for  instance,  as  the  Wans 

'  References  to  the  various  memoirs  in  which  these  are  described  are 
given  by  Virchow,  Zeit.f.  Ethnologie^  1870,  p.  258.  See  also  papers  by 
Mr  Stuart  and  Dr  P'odisch  in  the  Proc.  Soc.  Antiq.  Scotland,  vol.  viii. 


DOLMENS,    MENHIRS,   STONE   CIRCLES   113 

Dyke,  the  Devil's  Dyke  at  Newmarket,  and  OfFa's  Dyke, 
which  runs  from  the  Bristol  Channel  to  the  Dee,  thus 
roughly  dividing  England  from  Wales — which  were  no 
doubt  partly  boundary-lines  and  partly  fortifications,  like 
the  Roman  Wall  or  the  still  more  remarkable  Wall  of 
China. 

The  tumuli,  menhirs,  or  standing  stones,  dolmens  or 
stone  chambers,  stone  circles,  and  stone  rows  or  avenues, 
may  all,  I  think,  be  considered  as  parts  of  one  com.mon 
plan.     The  great  majority  were   tombs.     In  some  cases 


iuL.l,  li  liliili 

ii 

n 

MMiliiiiilrULLtUMMuJ 

"Is 

•r 

Fig.  151. — Kit's  Coty  House,  near  Maidstone. 

the  dead  was  buried  in  his  actual  house,  the  entrance  of 
which  was  then  closed.  In  others  the  tomb  was  a  copy 
of  the  house.  We  may  regard  a  perfect  megalithic  inter- 
ment as  having  consisted  of  a  stone  chamber,  communi- 
cating with  the  outside  by  a  passage,  covered  with  a  mound 
of  earth,  surrounded  and  supported  at  the  circumference 
by  a  circle  of  stones,  and  in  some  cases  surmounted  by  a 
stone  pillar  or  "  menhir."  Sometimes,  however,  we  find 
the  central  chamber  standing  alone,  as  at  Kit's  Coty  House, 
near  Maidstone,  which  may  or  may  not  have  ever  been 
covered  by  a  mound  ;  sometimes — especially,  of  course, 
where  stone  was  scarce — we  find  the  earthen  mound 
alone ;    sometimes    only    the    menhir.       The    celebrated 

8 


114  PREHISTORIC    TIMES 

stone  avenues  of  Carnac,  in  Brittany,  and  the  stone  rows 
of  Avebury,  may,  I  think,  have  been  highly  developed 
specimens  of  the  entrance  passage  ;  in  Stonehenge,  and 
many  other  instances,  we  have  the  stone  circle.  In 
fact,  these  different  parts  of  the  perfect  monument  are 
found  in  every  combination  and  in  every  degree  of 
development,  from  the  slight  elevation,  scarcely  perceptible 
to  the  eye,  excepting,  perhaps,  when  it  is  thrown  into 
relief  by  the  slanting  rays  of  the  rising  or  setting  sun,  to 
the  gigantic  hill  of  Silbury  ;  from  the  small  stone  circle  to 
the  stupendous  monuments  of  Stonehenge  or  Avebury. 

Some  of  the  oldest  tumuli  of  Western  Europe,  as 
figs.  144-5,^  contain  a  passage,  formed  by  great  blocks  of 
stone,  almost  always  opening  (as  do  those  of  Brittany) 
towards  the  south  or  east — never  to  the  north — and  lead- 
ing into  a  large  central  chamber,  round  which  the  dead 
sit.  At  Godhavn,  for  instance,  in  the  year  1830,  a  grave 
(if  so  it  can  be  called)  of  this  kind  was  opened,  and 
numerous  skeletons  were  found,  sitting  on  a  low  seat 
round  the  walls,  each  with  his  weapons  and  ornaments  by 
his  side.  Now  the  dwellings  used  by  Arctic  nations — the 
"  winter-houses "  of  the  Esquimaux  and  Greenlanders, 
the  "  Yourts  "  of  the  Siberians — correspond  closely  with 
these  "  Ganggraben  "  or  "  Passage  graves."  The  Siberian 
Yourt,  for  instance,  as  described  by  Erman,  consists  of  a 
central  chamber,  sunk  a  little  in  the  ground,  and,  in  the 
absence  of  great  stones,  formed  of  timber,  while  earth  is 
heaped  up  on  the  roof  and  against  the  sides,  reducing  it 
to  the  form  of  a  mound.  The  opening  is  on  the  south, 
and  a  small  hole  for  a  window  is  sometimes  left  on  the 
east  side.  Instead  of  glass,  a  plate  of  ice  is  used  ;  it  is  at 
first  a  foot  thick,  and  four  or  five  generally  last  through 
the  winter.  The  fireplace  is  opposite  the  entrance  ;  and 
round  the  sides  of  the  room,  against  the  walls,  "  the  floor 
is  raised  for  a  width  of  about  six  feet,  and  on  this  elevated 
part  the  inmates  slept  at  night,  and  sat  at  work  by  day." 

Captain  Cook  gives  a  very  similar  description  of  the 
winter  habitations  used  by  the  Tschutski  in  the  extreme 
'  M.  Delechette  gives  a  figure,  Man.  d'ArchroL^  p.  38 1. 


TUMULI-LIKE   DWELLINGS 


115 


north-east  of  Asia.  They  are,  he  says,^  "  exactly  like  a 
vault,  the  floor  of  which  is  sunk  a  little  below  the  surface 
of  the  earth.  One  of  them,  which  I  examined,  was  of  an 
oval  form,  about  twenty  feet  long  and  twelve  or  more 
high.  The  framing  was  composed  of  wood,  and  the 
ribs  of  whales,  disposed  in  a  judicious  manner,  and  bound 
together  with  smaller  materials  of  the  same  sort.  Over 
this  framing  is  laid  a  covering  of  strong  coarse  grass,  and 
that,  again,  is  covered  with  earth  ;  so  that,  on  the  outside, 
the  house  looks  like  a  little  hillock  supported  by  a  wall 


Fig.  152. — Summer  and  winter  dwellings  in  Kamschatka. 

of  Stone  three  or  four  feet  high,  which  is  built  round  the 
two  sides  and  one  end." 

"The  Aleutian  Islanders,"  says  Mr  Dall,  "  especially 
in  their  winter  villages,  were  used  to  construct  large,  half- 
underground  habitations,  often  of  extraordinary  size. 
These  were  so  arranged  by  internal  partitions  as  to  afford 
shelter  to  even  as  many  as  one  hundred  families.  No 
fires  were  built  in  the  central  undivided  portion,  which 
was  entered  through  a  hole  in  the  roof,  provided  with  a 
notched  log  by  way  of  ladder.  In  the  small  compartments 
each  family  had  its  own  oil  lamp,  which,  with  the  closely 
fitting  door  of  skins,  and  the  heat  of  numerous  bodies  in 
a  very  small  space,  sufiiced  to    keep    them   warm.     We 

1    Voyui^cs  io  the  Paa'Jic  Ocean,  vol.  ii.  p.  450.      See  also  vol.  iii.  p.  374. 


ii6 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


learn  that  the  bodies,  while  being  prepared  for  encasement, 
as  above  described,  were  sometimes  kept  in  the  compart- 
ment which  they  had  occupied  during  life  until  ready 
for  deposition  elsewhere.  We  also  know  from  early 
accounts,  proved  true  by  our  own  excavations,  that  the 
bodies  of  the  dead,  in  the  compressed  position  before 
mentioned,  were  sometimes  placed  in  the  compartment, 
laid  on  their  sides,  and  covered  with  earth,  with  which  the 
whole   compartment  was  filled  and  then  walled  up.     It 

is  stated  that 
others  in  the 
same  yourt 
continued  to 
occupy  their 
several  com- 
partments 
after  this  as 
usual,  a    pro- 


cee 


din* 


ver^ 


■&     ■ ^"T 
different  from 

that    of    the 

majority  of  the 

Fig.  153.  —  Laplander's  gamme  or  hut.  I  n n ui  t,      who 

usually   aban- 
don at  once  a  house  in  which  a  death  has  occurred."  ^ 

Fig.  153  represents  the  plan  of  a  Laplander's  gamme, 
or  hut,  at  Komagfiord,  as  given  by  Mr  Brooke."  It  was 
built  of  sods,  supported  by  a  rude  framework,  and  the 
interstices  were  stuffed  with  moss.  The  greatest  height 
was  6  ft.,  the  breadth  14  ft.,  the  whole  length  30  ft.  A 
is  the  door  ;  B  the  passage,  3  ft.  high,  6  ft.  broad,  and 
12  ft.  in  length  ;  C  is  the  inner  door,  opening  into  the 
gamme,  D  ;  E  the  fireplace,  composed  of  a  few  large 
stones  to  confine  the  wood-fire  ;  F  an  opening  in  the 
roof  to  let  out  the  smoke  ;  G  G  are  sleeping  divisions,  which 
serve  also  to  support  the  roof  ;  H  is  a  portion  fenced  off 
for  the  sheep  and  goats.     A  comparison   of  this  hut  with 

'   Dall,  The  Aleutian  Islands.     Smithsonian  Contributions,  1878. 
^  Brooke's  Travels  in  Lapland.,  p.  318. 


HUT-BURIAL  AMONG   SAVAGES        117 

the  corresponding  plan  of  a  tumulus  (fig.  163,  p.  163), 
will  show  how  closely  these  dwellings  appear  to  agree 
with  the  "  Ganggraben  "  :  indeed,  it  is  possible  that  in 
some  cases  ruined  dwellings  of  this  kind  have  been  mis- 
taken for  sepulchral  tumuli  ;  ^  for  some  mounds  have  been 
examined  which  contained  broken  implements,  pottery, 
ashes,  etc.,  but  no  human  bones  ;  in  short,  numerous 
indications  of  life,  but  no  trace  of  death.  We  know, 
also,  that  several  savage  tribes  have  a  superstitious  re- 
luctance to  use  anything  which  has  belonged  to  a  dead 
person,  perhaps  from  fear  of  irritating  his  ghost  ;  in 
some  cases  this  applies  to  his  house,  which  is  either 
deserted  or  used  as  a  grave.  Thus,  some  of  the  North 
American  tribes,  for  instance,  the  Cherokees  and 
Chichasaws,  buried  the  dead  under  the  couch  on  which 
he  died.^  The  Indians  of  the  Amazons  also  bury  their 
dead  under  their  houses,  which,  however,  are  not  therefore 
abandoned  by  the  living. 

Among  the  New  Zealanders,  according  to  Mr  Taylor, 
"  when  the  owner  died,  and  was  buried  in  his  house,  it 
was  left  with  all  it  contained  ;  the  door  was  tied  up  and 
painted  with  ochre,  to  show  it  was  made  tapu,  and  then 
no  one  ever  entered  it  again." ^  In  many  villages,  he 
says,  nearly  half  the  houses  belonged  to  the  dead.  The 
islanders  of  Torres  Straits  also  used  the  ordinary  huts  as 
dead  houses.* 

Denham^  tells  us  that  in  the  great  Central  African 
kingdom  of  Bornou  "every  one  is  buried  under  the  floor 
of  his  own  house,  without  monument  or  memorial  ;  and 
among  the  commonalty  the  house  continues  occupied  as 
usual,  but  among  the  great  there  is  more  refinement,  and 
it  is  ever  afterwards  abandoned."  The  same  is  the  case 
with  the  Dahomans,  Yorubans,  Fantees,  and  other  African 
tribes.^     Other  races,  as,  for  instance,  some  of  the  Tibeto- 

'  The  so-called  "  Pond-barrows"  perhaps  belong  to  this  class. 

^  Jones,  Antiquities  of  the  Soiit/tern  Indians^  p.  114. 

■'  New  Zealand  and  its  Inhabitants,  p.  10 1. 

*  M'Gillivray,  Voyage  0/ the  '''' Rattlesnake"  vol.  ii.  p.  48. 

''  Travels  in  Africa,  vol.  iv.  pp.  55   130 

"  Burton's  Mission  to  Dahoine,  vol.  ii.  p.  2. 


ii8  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

Burman  ^  tribes  and  the  natives  of  Madagascar,^  erect 
miniature  houses  over  graves. 

Hut  burial  also  occurs  among  several  South  American 
tribes. 

It  is  still  more  significant  that  the  Esquimaux  them- 
selves frequently  leave  the  dead  in  the  houses  which  they 
occupied  when  alive. ^  Nor  can  anyone  compare  the 
plan  of  a  Scandinavian  "  passage  grave,"  as,  for  instance, 
the  one  represented  in  fig.  163,  with  any  drawing  of 
an  Esquimaux  snow  house,  without  being  struck  with 
the  great  similarity  existing  between  them. 

Under  these  circumstances  we  may  consider  these 
chamber  graves  as  a  copy,  a  development,  or  an  adaptation, 
of  the  dwelling-house  ;  that  the  ancient  inhabitants  of 
Scandinavia,  unable  to  imagine  a  future  altogether  different 
from  the  present,  or  a  world  quite  unlike  our  own, 
showed  their  respect  and  affection  for  the  dead  by  burying 
with  them  those  things  which  in  life  they  had  valued 
most  :  with  women,  their  ornaments  ;  with  warriors,  their 
weapons.  They  buried  the  house  with  its  owner,  and  the 
grave  was  literally  the  dwelling  of  the  dead.  When  a 
great  man  died,  he  was  placed  on  his  favourite  seat,  food 
and  drink  were  arranged  before  him,  his  weapons  were 
placed  by  his  side,  his  house  was  closed,  and  the  door 
covered  up  ;  sometimes,  however,  to  be  opened  again 
when  his  wife  or  children  joined  him  in  the  land  of 
spirits. 

So,  again,  the  tomb  in  the  same  way  becomes  a  temple. 
The  Khasias  are  a  primitive  people  of  India  who  even 
now  construct  monuments  over  the  dead.  They  then 
proceed  to  offer  food  and  drink  to  the  deceased,  and  to 
implore  their  assistance.  If  after  praying  at  a  particular 
tomb  they  obtain  their  desires,  they  return  again,  and  if 
success  is  repeated,  this  tomb  gradually  acquires  a  certain 
reputation,  and  the  person  buried  in  it  becomes  more  or 
less    a    deity.     When    a    considerable  celebrity  has  thus 

^  M'Mahon,  Karens  of  the  Golden  Chersoicse^  pp.  91,  318. 
^  Sibree,  Madao^ascar  and  its  People^  pp.  i66,  251. 
^  Ross'  Arctic  Expedition^  1829- 1833,  p.  290. 


STONE   CIRCLES  119 

been  acquired,  other  shrines  would  naturally  be  conse- 
crated to  him  by  those  anxious  for  his  assistance,  and 
these  would  be  constructed  on  the  model  of  the  first.  No 
wonder,  then,  that  it  is  impossible  in  all  cases  to  dis- 
tinguish the  tomb  from  the  temple.^ 

We  will  now  briefly  consider  the  different  classes  of 
monuments. 

Stone  circles,  or  cromlechs,  consist  of  rough  upright 
stones,  arranged  in  a  circle.  The  usual  diameter  is  about 
100  feet,  but  some  are  much  larger,  the  principal  circle 
at  Avebury,  for  instance,  being  1200  feet  across.  The 
stones  are  placed  at  equal  distances,  and  the  number  of 
them  had  probably  some  significance.  "  The  two  inner 
circles  at  Abury,  the  lesser  circle  at  Stennis,  and  one  at 
Stanton  Drew,  each  consisted  of  twelve  ;  the  outer  circles 
at  Abury,  the  outer  circles  of  uprights  and  transoms  at 
Stonehenge,  the  large  circle  at  Stanton  Drew,  and  the 
circle  at  Arbor  Low,  each  of  thirty  ;  those  of  Rollrich  and 
Stennis,  of  sixty  ;  and  the  large  enclosing  circle  of  Abury, 
of  one  hundred  stones.  Four  circles  at  Boscawen,  and 
adjacent  places  in  Cornwall,  have  each  been  formed  of 
nineteen  stones."  ^  Avebury  and  Stonehenge  are  the 
most  celebrated  examples  of  stone  circles,  but  they  differ 
from  the  usual  type  in  several  respects  ;  for  instance,  in 
having  the  principal  stones  roughly  hewn,  and  in  the 
presence  of  capstones. 

Stone  circles  occur  in  various  parts  of  the  Continent, 
but  are  less  frequent  than  in  our  islands.  Nor  are  they 
by  any  means  confined  to  Europe.  The  Todas  of  the 
Neilgherry  Hills  have  stone  circles  within  which  burial 
ceremonies  are  performed,  the  ashes  being  placed  under 
one  of  the  stones.^  Throughout  the  Deccan  are 
numerous  stone  circles  sacred  to  Vetal,  whose  worship 
still  holds  its  own  against  the  Brahmanical  innovations  ;* 
while    Sir    Bartle    Frere,  in   his    Introduction^    to    Miss 

•  Sir  John  Lubbock,  Preface,  p.  5,  to  Our  Ancient  Monuments  ami  the 
Land  Around  'fhein^hy  C.  Ph.  Kains-Jackson,  1880. 
-  Thurnam,  Crania  Hritannica.  Decade  iv. 
•'  Breeks,  Frimitii'c  Tribes  of  the  Neilgherrics,  pp.  24,  72. 
■*  Old  Deccan  Days,  p.  x.  "  Loc.  cit.,  p.  x. 


120 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


STONE   CIRCLES  121 

Frere's  charming  Old  Deccan  Days,  tells  us  that  in  that 
part  of  India  outside  almost  every  village  there  is  a  circle 
of  large  stones  sacred  to  Vetal.  Stanley  saw,  a  few  miles 
to  the  north  of  Tyre,  a  circle  of  rough  upright  stones  ; 
Mr  Palmer,  in  his  Desert  of  the  Exodus,  mentions  the 
existence  of  "  huge  stone  circles  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Mount  Sinai,  some  of  them  measuring  100  feet  in 
diameter,  having  a  cist  in  the  centre  covered  with  a  heap 
of  large  boulders"  ;  and  Kohen,  a  Jesuit  missionary,  has 
recently  discovered  in  Arabia,  near  Khabb,  in  the  district 
of  Kasim,  three  large  stone  circles  described  as  being 
extremely  like  Stonehenge,  and  consisting  of  very  lofty 
trilithons.^  Barth  also  describes  and  figures  similar 
trilithons  as  occurring  in  Tripoli.^  In  this  case  the  pillars 
are  10  feet  high,  and  stand  on  a  raised  foundation. 

Arctic  travellers,  also,  mention  stone  circles  and  stone 
rows  among  the  Esquimaux.  These  are,  however,  of  a 
different  character,  being  quite  small,  and  probably  are 
merely  the  lower  part  of  habitations. 

Lafitau  figures  an  Indian  (Virginian)  temple  consisting 
of  a  circle  of  upright  stones,  which,  however,  are  carved 
at  the  top  into  rude  representations  of  human  faces. ^ 
Mr  Squier  mentions  stone  circles  as  occurring  in  Peru.* 

As  regards  the  period  at,  or  purposes  for,  which  the 
European  stone  circles  were  erected,  history  gives  us  no 
information. 

Mr  George  Petrie,  indeed,  has  pointed  out  several 
cases  in  which  the  Orkney  circles  were  mentioned  in  old 
deeds,  etc.^  Thus,  in  1349,  William  de  Saint  Michael 
was  summoned  to  attend  a  court  held  "  apud  stantes 
lapides  de  Rane  en  le  Garniach,"  to  answer  for  his 
forcible  detention  of  certain  ecclesiastical  property  ;  and 
in  1380,  Alexander,  Lord  of  Regality  of  Badenoch,  and 
son  of  Robert  II.,  held  a  court,  "apud  le  standand  stanys 

'  Bonstetten,  Sur  les  Dolmens^  p.  27. 
'■^   'frai'els  in  Central  Africa^  vol.  i.  pp.  58,  74. 

^  Mcciirs  des  Sauv.  Aincr.^  vol.  ii.  p.  135.     I  have  given  a  copy  in  the 
Origin  of  Civilization^  2nd  ed.,  p.  179. 
*  Anicr.  Nat.,  vol.  iv.  p.  12. 
^  Prehistoric  Annals  0/  Scotland,  2nd  cd.,  vol.  i.  p.  164. 


122  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

de  la  Rathe  de  Kyngucy  Estir,"  to  inquire  into  the 
titles  by  which  the  Bishop  of  Moray  held  certain  of  his 
lands.  Even  so  late  as  the  year  1438,  we  find  a  notice 
that  "John  off Erwyne  and  Will  Bernardson  swor  on  the 
Hirdmane  Stein  before  oure  Lorde  ye  Erie  off  Orknay 
and  the  gentiless  off  the  cuntre."  It  is  obvious,  however, 
that  this  comparatively  recent  use  of  the  stone  circles  does 
not  enable  us  to  form  any  opinion  as  to  the  purpose  for 
which  they  were  originally  intended. 

It  is  perhaps  more  relevant  to  observe  that  both  in  the 
Iliad  (B.  xviii.)  and  Odyssey  (B.  viii.)  assemblies  of  elders 
are  mentioned  as  sitting  in  solemn  conclave  on  stone  seats 
arranged  in  circles.  In  the  former  case  the  seats  are  said 
to  have  been  polished.  None  of  our  stone  circles,  how- 
ever, appear  to  have  been  used  for  any  such  purpose. 
Some  of  them  were  certainly  sepulchral  ;  and  it  seems 
probable  that  this  was  their  original  purpose  ;  but  that, 
like  other  shrines,  they  were  subsequently  used  as 
temples. 

As  regards  stone  pillars  and  tumuli,  we  are  told,  in 
Gen.  xxxi.,  that  "  Jacob  took  a  stone  and  set  it  up  for  a 
pillar"  ;  and  in  verse  51,  "  Laban  said  to  Jacob,  Behold 
this  heap,  and  behold  this  pillar,  which  I  have  cast 
between  me  and  thee.  This  heap  is  a  witness,  and  this 
pillar  is  a  witness,  that  I  will  not  pass  over  this  heap  to 
thee,  and  that  thou  shalt  not  pass  over  this  pillar  to  me, 
to  do  me  harm,"  etc.  At  Mount  Sinai,  Moses  erected 
twelve  pillars.^  And  so,  again,  when  the  children  of 
Israel  had  crossed  over  Jordan,  Joshua  took  twelve 
stones  and  pitched  them  in  Gilgal.  "  And  he  spake  unto 
the  children  of  Israel,  saying.  When  your  children  shall 
ask  their  fathers  in  time  to  come,  saying.  What  mean 
these  stones  }  then  ye  shall  let  your  children  know, 
saying,  Israel  came  over  this  Jordan  on  dry  land."^ 

Achan  and  his  whole  family  were  stoned  with  stones 
and  burned  with  fire,  after  which  we  are  told  that  Israel 
"  raised  over  him  a  great  heap  of  stones  unto  this  day. 
So  the  Lord  turned  from  the  fierceness  of    his  anger." 

1  Ex.  xxiv.  4.  -  Joshua  iv.  21,  22. 


ANTIQUITY   OF   TUMULI  123 

Again,  the  king  of  Ai  was  buried  under  a  great  heap  of 
stones  ;  and  so  also  was  Absalom,  of  whom  likewise  we 
are  told  that  he  "  reared  up  for  himself  a  pillar,  which  is 
in  the  King's  Dale  ;  for  he  said,  I  have  no  son  to  keep 
my  name  in  remembrance  ;  and  he  called  the  pillar  after 
his  own  name,  and  it  is  called  unto  this  day  Absalom's 
Place." 

In  one  of  the  ancient  Babylonian  records,  Izdubar  is 
recorded  to  have  erected  a  memorial  mound. ^ 

According  to  Diodorus,  Semiramis,  the  widow  of 
Ninus,  buried  her  husband  within  the  precincts  of  the 
palace,  and  raised  over  him  a  great  mound  of  earth, 
Pausanias  mentions  that  stones  were  collected  together, 
and  heaped  up  over  the  tomb  of  Laius,  the  father  of 
CEdipus.  In  the  time  of  the  Trojan  war,  Tydeus  and 
Lycus  are  mentioned  as  having  been  buried  under  two 
earthen  barrows.  "  Hector's  barrow  was  of  stone  and 
earth.  Achilles  erected  a  tumulus,  upwards  of  an 
hundred  feet  in  diameter,  over  the  remains  of  his  friend 
Patroclus.  The  mound,  supposed  by  Xenophon  to 
contain  the  remains  of  Alyattes,  father  of  Croesus,  king 
of  Lydia,  is  of  stone  and  earth,  and  more  than  a  quarter 
of  a  league  in  circumference.  The  tradition  that  the 
tumulus  at  Marathon  is  the  tomb  of  the  Greeks  who  fell 
in  that  battle,  has  been  confirmed  by  the  recent  discovery 
in  it  of  vases  belonging  to  that  period.  Alexander  the 
Great  caused  a  tumulus  to  be  heaped  over  his  friend 
Hephaestion,  at  the  cost  of  1200  talents,  no  mean  sum 
even  for  a  conqueror  like  Alexander,  it  being  ^^232, 500 
sterling."'^  Virgil  tells  us  that  Dercennus,  king  of 
Latium,  was  buried  under  an  earthen  mound  ;  and 
according  to  the  earliest  historians,  whose  statements 
are  confirmed  by  the  researches  of  archaeologists,  mound- 
burial  was  practised  in  ancient  times  by  the  Scythians, 
Greeks,  Etruscans,  Germans,  and  many  other  nations, 
Silbury  Hill  near  Avebury,  the  greatest  tumulus  in 
Europe,  is  130  feet  high  and  covers  5^  acres, 

'   Le  Normant,  Lcs  Pretnicres  Civilizations^  vol.  ii.  p.  47. 

^  Ten  Year:>''  Dig^i^ings  i7i  the  Celtic  and  Saxon  Grave/iills,  p.  v. 


124  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

By  far  the  greater  number  of  the  tumuli  in  Western 
Europe  are  entirely  prehistoric,  but  there  are  some  few 
of  which  the  date  and  origin  are  known  to  us,  such  as  the 
tumuli  of  Queen  Thyra  and  King  Gorm,  who  died  about 
950,  at  Jellinge,  in  Denmark. 

The  JMausoleum  of  Augustus  was  justly  called  by 
Tacitus  a  tumulus,  since  it  was  covered  by  an  immense 
mound  of  earth.  The  tumulus  from  which  Taplow 
takes  its  name,  the  Low  or  Mound  on  the  Hill-top, 
was  the  burial-place  of  a  Viking  of  about  the  seventh 
century. 

There  are,  moreover,  other  cases  in  which  tumuli  are 
mentioned,  though  not  in  a  manner  which  enables  us  to 
identify  them  with  any  of  those  now  existing.  Thus 
Gregory  of  Tours  ^  has  a  quaint  story  to  the  effect  that 
Macliav,  flying  from  his  brother  Chanaon,  took  refuge 
with  Chonomor,  Count  of  the  Bretons.  Chanaon  sent 
messengers  to  demand  that  Macliav  should  be  given  up 
to  him,  but  Chonomor  concealed  him  in  a  tomb,  "  rearing 
over  him  a  tumulus  in  the  usual  manner,  but  leaving 
a  small  opening  for  the  entrance  of  air "  (componens 
desuper  ex  more  tumulum,  parvumque  ei  spiraculum 
reservans,  unde  halitum  resumere  posset).  He  then 
showed  this  tumulus  to  the  messengers,  and  assured  them 
that  Macliav  was  buried  in  it. 

The  Codex  Diplomaticus  contains  references  to  more 
than  sixty  barrows  or  lows,  bearing  the  names  of  particular 
persons  ;  some  of  them,  as,  for  instance,  Wodne's 
Beorgh,  or  Woden's  Barrow,  are  probably  mythical,  but 
there  seems  no  reason  to  doubt  that  some — for  instance, 
Alfrede's  Beorh,  j^ithelwolde's  Beorh,  Cissan  Beorh, 
Cwichelme's  Hloew,  Oswolde's  Hloew,  etc. — retain  the 
name  of  the  person  really  buried  within.^  It  appears 
that  in  England  the  habit  of  burying  under  tumuli  was 
finally  abandoned  during  the  tenth  century. 

The  Danish  Sagas  also  tell  us  that  in  the  middle  of  the 

'  Historia  Francoruin,  iv.  4. 

^  For  an  interesting  memoir  on  notices  of  heathen    interment  in  the 
Codex  Diplomaticus,  see  Kemble,  Arch.  Jour.,  vol.  xiv.  p.  119. 


TUMULI    IN   ANCIENT   HISTORY       125 

eighth  century,  Sigurd  Ring,  having  conquered  his  uncle. 
King  Harald  Hildetand,  in  the  battle  of  Braavalla, 
"  washed  the  corpse,  placed  it  on  Harald's  war-chariot, 
and  buried  it  in  a  tumulus  which  he  had  formed  for  the 
purpose.  Harald's  horse  also  was  slain  and  buried  with 
him,  with  the  saddle,  so  that  Harald  might  either  ride  to 
Valhalla,  or  go  in  his  chariot,  as  he  preferred.  Sigurd 
then  gave  a  great  feast,  after  which  he  recommended  the 
chiefs  present  to  throw  their  ornaments  and  arms  into  the 
tumulus  in  honour  of  Harald.  Finally  the  tumulus  was 
carefully  closed."  ^ 

By  far  the  greater  number  of  these  monuments,  how- 
ever, are  doubtless  far  older.  Some,  indeed,  were  ancient 
and  mysterious  even  in  the  days  of  Homer.  Thus,  at 
the  burial  of  Patroclus,  when  Nestor  is  pointing  out  to 
his  son  Antilochus  the  course  for  the  chariot  race,  he 
says  : — 

"  Plain  is  the  goal 
That  now  I  tell  thee  of ;  nor  canst  thou  miss  it  : 

On  either  side 
Where  narrowest  is  the  way,  and  all  the  course 
Around  is  smooth,  rise  two  white  stones,  set  there 
To  mark  the  tomb  of  some  one  long  since  dead, 
Or  form  a  goal  for  men  in  ages  past."  ^ 

It  is  very  striking  to  find  these  menhirs  mentioned  in 
our  earliest  writings,  as  monuments  of  events  even  then 
already  lost  in  the  obscurity  of  the  past. 

Many  of  the  very  largest  tumuli  in  Western  Europe 
appear,  from  the  nature  of  their  contents,  to  have  been 
constructed  during  the  Stone  Age.  At  first,  indeed,  it 
seems  almost  incredible  that  the  immense  tumuli  of 
Brittany  should  have  been  erected  by  a  people  who 
possessed  no  metal.     We  must  remember,  however,  that 

^  Engelhardt,  Guide  Illust^-e  du  Musce  des  Aftttqinfcs  du  Nord  a 
Copenhague^  1868.     See  also  Saxo  Grammaticus,  His.  Dan..,  1.  x.  ch.  xii. 

^  Iliad.,  xxiii.  384.  I  have  quoted  from  Mr  Wright's  translation,  which, 
in  this  passage  at  least,  is  more  faithful  than  any  other  with  which  I  am 
acquainted. 


126  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

some  of  the  South  Sea  monuments  were  quite  as  con- 
siderable. Moreover,  though  hundreds  of  beautiful 
stone  axes  and  ornaments  have  been  found  in  the  tumuli 
of  Brittany,  no  weapons  of  metal  have  yet  occurred  in 
them.  It  has  been  supposed  that  the  carvings  on  some 
of  the  stones  could  not  have  been  cut  without  metal. 
Actual  experiments,  however,  as  Messrs  Bertrand  and  de 
Mortillet  have  shown  me,  prove  that  the  stone  can  be 
cut  with  flint,  while  bronze  produces  no  efi^ect  on  it. 
Sir  James  Y.  Simpson  also  has  shown  that  the  engravings 
on  the  Scotch  rocks,  even  those  on  granite,  may  have 
been  carved  with  a  flint  tool.^ 

In  this  country  we  still  habitually  call  the  megalithic 
monuments  "  Druidical,"  but  it  is  hardly  necessary  to 
mention  that  there  is  really  no  sufficient  reason  for  con- 
necting them  with  Druidical  worship. 

The  greatest  of  all  so-called  Druidical  monuments  is 
the  temple  of  Avebury,  in  Wiltshire.  It  is,  indeed, 
much  less  known  than  Stonehenge  ;  and  yet,  though  a 
ruder,  it  was  a  much  grander  temple.  According  to 
Aubrey,  Avebury  "  did  as  much  exceed  Stonehenge  as 
a  cathedral  does  a  parish  church."  When  perfect,  it 
consisted  of  an  embankment  and  a  circular  ditch,  con- 
taining an  area  of  iS^  acres  ;  inside  the  ditch  was  a 
circle  of  great  stones,  and  within  this,  again,  two  smaller 
circles,  formed  by  a  double  row  of  smaller  stones,  stand- 
ing side  by  side.  From  the  outer  embankment  started 
two  long  winding  avenues  of  stones,  one  of  which  went  in 
the  direction  of  Beckhampton,  and  the  other  in  that  of 
Kennet,  where  it  ended  in  another  double  circle.  Stukely 
fancifully  supposed  that  the  idea  of  the  whole  was  that 
of  a  snake  transmitted  through  a  circle  ;  the  Kennet 
circle  representing  the  head,  the  Beckhampton  avenue 
the  tail.  Midway  between  the  two  avenues  stood  Silbury 
Hill,  the  largest  artificial  mound  in  Europe,  measuring 
no  less  than  130  feet  in  height,  and  covering  5^  acres. 
At  one  time  it  was  no  doubt  even  hig^her.  From  its 
position  it  appears  to  form  part  of  the  general  plan,  but 
'  Proc.  Soc.  Antiq.  Scotland,  vol.  vi.  1867,  p.  122. 


AVEBURY   AND    SILBURY   HILL 


127 


though  it  has  been  twice  examined,  no  primary  interment 
has  been   found   in   it.     On   the   whole,  this  appears   to 


have  been  the  finest  megalithic  ruin  in  Europe  ;  but,  un- 
fortunately for  us,  the  pretty  little  village  of  Avebury, 


128  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

like  some  beautiful  parasite,  has  grown  up  at  the  expense, 
and  in  the  midst,  of  the  ancient  temple,  and  out  of  650 
great  stones,  not  above  20  are  still  standing. 

Excavations  were  made  at  Avebury  by  a  British  Asso- 
ciation Committee  of  which  I  was  a  member.  The  work 
was  carried  out  under  the  supervision  of  Mr  St  George 
Gray,  Curator  of  the  Taunton  Museum,  and  has  shown 
what  an  immense  undertaking  it  was,  especially  as  the 
constructors  had  nothing  but  stone  implements  and  antler 
picks  to  work  with.  The  vallum  as  already  mentioned 
includes  2  8|-  acres.     At  present    the    central    plateau    is 


Avebury  stones. 


about  12  feet,  and  the  crest  of  the  vallum  31  feet  above 
the  present  level  of  the  fosse,  which  however  has  gradually 
filled  in.  The  true  bottom  was  49*7  feet  below  the 
crest  of  the  vallum,  and  supposing  this  to  have  sunk 
about  5  feet,  the  original  depth  of  the  fosse  must  have 
been  over  50  feet !  The  filling  in  may  have  been  rapid 
at  first,  but  no  doubt  became  gradually  slower.  The 
fosse  excavations  so  far  made  represent  a  length  of  90 
feet,  and  the  objects  found  were  very  instructive.  Near 
the  surface  to  a  depth  of  2  to  3  feet  were  fragments  of 
mediaeval  pottery  ;  from  3*5  to  4*5  feet  fragments  of 
Roman  pottery  and  a  brooch  with  the  maker's  name 
"  Aucissa,"  several  of  whose  works  have  been  found  in 
other  parts  of  England.  Nothing  Roman  was  found 
below  this  level,  but  only  prehistoric  pottery,  flint  chips. 


AVEBURY   AND   SILBURY   HILL 


129 


scrapers,  and  a  well-worked  knife,  antlers  of  red-deer  and 
shoulder-blades,  the  horns  having  been  used  to  dig  out 
the  chalk,  and  the  shoulder-blades  to  shovel  it  up.  The 
results  therefore  go  far  to  confirm  the  view  that  Avebury 
belongs  to  the  later  Stone  Age. 

Mr  Fergusson  ^  has  attempted  to  prove  that  both 
Stonehenge  and  Avebury  belong  to  post-Roman  times. 
"  The  Roman  road,"  he  says,  "  from  Bath  to  Marlborough, 
either   passes   under   Silbury   Hill,   or    makes  a    sudden 


Fig.  157.— Silbury  Hill, 

bend  to  get  round  it  in  a  manner  that  no  Roman  road, 
in  Britain  at  least,  was  ever  known  to  do.  .  .  .  From  a 
careful  examination  of  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case, 
the  conclusion  seems  inevitable  that  Silbury  Hill  stands 
on  the  Roman  road,  and  consequently  must  have  been 
erected  subsequently  to  the  time  of  the  Romans  leaving 
the  country." 

Startled  by  this  argument,  and  yet  satisfied  that  there 
must  be  some  error,  I  turned  to  the  Ordnance  map,  and 
found,  to  my  surprise,  that  the  Roman  road  was  distinctly 
laid  down  as  passing,  not  under,  but  at  the  side  of, 
Silbury  Hill.     Not  content  with  this,  1   persuaded  Pro- 

1  Rude  Stone  Monuments. 


I30  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

fessor  Tyndall  to  visit  the  locality  with  me,  and  we  con- 
vinced ourselves  that  upon  this  point  the  map  was  quite 
correct.  The  impression  on  our  minds  was  that  the 
Roman  engineer,  in  constructing  the  road  from  Morgan's 
Hill,  had  taken  Silbury  Hill  as  a  point  to  steer  for, 
swerving  only  just  before  reaching  it.  Moreover,  the 
map  will  show  that  not  only  this  Roman  road,  but  some 
others,  in  the  same  part  of  England,  are  less  straight  than 
is  usually  the  case. 

In  order  to  set  the  point  at  rest,  I  caused  excavations 
to  be  made,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Wiltshire  Archaeo- 
logical Society,  at  the  side  of  Silbury  Hill.  The  ditches 
running  along  the  Roman  road  could  still  be  followed, 
and  it  is  clear  that  the  road  swerved  shortly  before 
arriving  at,  and  in  order  to  avoid  the  tumulus.  I  quite 
agree,  therefore,  with  old  Stukely,  that  the  Roman  road 
curved  abruptly  southward  to  avoid  Silbury  Hill,  and 
that  "  this  shows  Silbury  Hill  was  ancienter  than  the 
Roman  road."  ^  How  much  more  ancient  it  is  impossible 
to  say,^  but  some  excavations  made  by  Mr  Pass  in  1886^ 
would  seem  to  indicate  that  it  cannot  be  later  than  the 
Bronze,  if  indeed  it  does  not  belong  to  the  close  of  the 
Stone  Age.  Round  the  hill  is  an  excavation  from  which 
the  chalk,  of  which  the  hill  is  composed,  was  taken.  The 
depression  thus  formed,  though  still  well  marked,  is 
partly  filled  up  with  some  9  feet  of  white  alluvial  matter. 
Mr  Pass  sunk  several  shafts  through  this,  and  at  the 
base  of  one  of  them  he  found  several  flakes  and  one  well- 
marked  flint  implement.  This  may  be  either  an  un- 
finished arrow-head  or  a  small  cutting  instrument. 

As  regards  Stonehenge,  we  have,  I  think,  satisfactory 
reasons  for  attributing  it  to  the  Bronze  Age. 

The  account  given  by  Giraldus  Cambrensis,  writing  at 

1  Mr  Blandford,  who  superintended  the  opening  of  the  Hill  in  1849, 
came  also  to  the  same  conclusion.  Proc.  Archccol.  Inst.,  1849,  p.  303. 
See  also  the  interesting  memoir  in  the  same  volume,  by  the  Rev.  A.  C. 
Smith. 

^  Stukely  thinks  it  was  founded  in  1859  B.C.,  the  year  of  the  death  of 
Sarah,  Abraham's  wife. 

^  Journ.  Wilts.  Arch,  and  Nat.  His.  Soc,  Aug.  1887. 


STONEHENGE  131 

the  close  of  the  12th  century,  is  clearly  mythical.  Accord- 
ing to  him,  it  was  erected  by  Aurelius  Ambrosius  in 
memory  of  the  British  chieftains  treacherously  murdered 
by  Hengist  and  the  Saxons,  about  the  year  460.  "  There 
was,"  he  says,  "  in  Ireland,  in  ancient  times,  a  pile  of 
stones  worthy  of  admiration,  called  the  Giant's  Dance, 
because  giants  from  the  remotest  part  of  Africa  brought 
them  into  Ireland  ;  and  in  the  plains  of  Kildare,  not  far 
from  the  castle  of  Naas,  as  well  by  force  of  art  as  strength, 
miraculously  set  them  up  ;  and  similar  stones,  erected  in 
a  like  manner,  are  to  be  seen  there  at  this  day.  These 
stones  (according  to  the  British  history)  Aurelius 
Ambrosius,  king  of  the  Britons,  procured  Merlin,  by 
supernatural  means,  to  bring  from  Ireland  into  Britain. 
And  that  he  might  leave  some  famous  monument  of  so 
great  a  treason  to  future  ages,  in  the  same  order  and  art  as 
they  stood  formerly,  set  them  up  where  the  flower  of  the 
British  nation  fell  by  the  cut-throat  practice  of  the  Saxons, 
and  where,  under  the  pretence  of  peace,  the  ill-secured 
youth  of  the  kingdom,  by  murderous  designs,  were  slain. "^ 
This  account  is  clearly  mythical.  The  larger  stones 
were  evidently  obtained  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  are 
in  fact  "  Sarcens,"  identical  with  those  which  occur  in 
hundreds  on  Salisbury  Plain.  Moreover,  the  very  name 
of  Stonehenge,  like  those  of  Stanton  Drew,  Stennis,  etc., 
seems  to  me  a  very  strong  argument  against  those  who 
attribute  these  monuments  to  so  recent  an  origin. 
Stanton  Drew,  for  instance,  is  "  The  Stone  Town  of  the 
Druids."  How  could  it  have  been  called  so  if  it  was 
erected  in  Saxon  times  .''  Stonehenge  is  generally  con- 
sidered to  mean  the  Hanging-stones,  as  indeed  was  long  ago 
suggested  by  Wace,  an  Anglo-Norman  poet,  who  says  : 

Stanhengues  ont  nom  en  Englois 
Pieres  pandues  en  Francois  ;  "^ 

but  it  is  surely  more  natural  to  derive  the  last  syllable 
from  the  Anglo-Saxon  word  "  ing,"  a  field  ;  as  we  have 

1  Giraldus,  Topogr.  of  Ireland. 

-  Wright's  Wanderings  of  an  Antiquary,  p.  301. 


132  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

Keston,  originally  Kyst-stan-ing,  the  field  of  stone  coffins. 
What  more  natural  than  that  a  new  race,  finding  this 
magnificent  ruin  standing  in  solitary  grandeur  on  Salisbury 
Plain,  and  able  to  learn  nothing  of  its  origin,  should  call 
it  simply  the  place  of  stones  ?  What  more  unnatural  than 
that  they  should  do  so,  if  they  knew  the  name  of  him  in 
whose  honour  it  was  erected  ?  The  plan  also  of  Stone- 
henge  seems  to  be  a  sufficient  reason  for  not  referring  it 
to  post-Roman  times.  It  has,  indeed,  been  urged  that 
if  Stonehenge  had  existed  in  the  time  of  Caesar,  we  should 
find  it  mentioned  by  ancient  writers.  Hecataeus,  how- 
ever, does  allude  to  a  magnificent  circular  temple  in  the 
island  of  the  Hyperboreans,  over  against  Celtica,  and 
many  archaeologists  have  confidently  assumed  that  this 
refers  to  Stonehenge.  But  why  should  we  expect  to  find 
it  described,  if  it  was,  as  we  suppose,  even  at  that  time  a 
ruin,  more  perfect,  no  doubt,  than  at  this  day,  but  still  a 
ruin  ^  The  Caledonian  Wall  was  a  most  important 
fortification  constructed  by  the  Romans  themselves,  and 
yet,  as  Dr  Wilson  tells  us,^  only  one  of  the  Roman 
historians  makes  the  least  allusion  to  its  erection,  nor  is 
Avebury  itself  mentioned  by  any  mediaeval  author. 

It  is  evident  that  Stonehenge  was  at  one  time  a  spot  of 
great  sanctity.  A  glance  at  the  Ordnance  map  will  show 
that  tumuli  cluster  in  great  numbers  round  and  within 
sight  of  it  ;  within  a  radius  of  three  miles,  there  are 
about  three  hundred  burial  mounds,  while  the  rest  of  the 
country  is  comparatively  free  from  them.  If,  then,  we 
could  determine  the  date  of  these  tumuli,  we  should  be 
justified,  I  think,  in  referring  the  Great  Temple  itself  to 
the  same  period.  Now,  of  these  barrows,  Sir  Richard 
Colt  Hoare  examined  a  great  number,  151  of  which  had 
not  been  previously  opened.  Of  these  the  great  majority 
contained  interments  by  cremation,  in  the  manner  usual 
during  the  Bronze  Age.  Only  two  contained  any  iron 
weapons,  and  these  were  both  secondary  interments  ;  that 
is  to  say,  the  owners  of  the  iron  weapons  were  not  the 
original  occupiers    of    the  tumuli.     Of   the  other  burial 

^  Prehistoric  Ann.  0/  Scot.,  vol.  ii.  p.  39. 


STONEHENGE  133 

mounds,  no  less  than  39  contained  objects  of  bronze,  and 
one  of  them,  in  which  were  found  a  spear-head  and  pin 
of  bronze,  was  still  more  connected  with  the  temple  by 
the  presence  of  fragments,  not  only  of  Sarcen  stones,  but 
also  of  the  blue  stones  which  form  the  inner  circle  at 
Stonehenge  ;  and  which  do  not  naturally  occur  in  Wilt- 
shire. Stonehenge  then  may,  I  think,  be  regarded  as  a 
monument  of  the  Bronze  Age,  though  apparently  it  was 
not  all  erected  at  one  time,  the  inner  circle  of  small, 
unwrought,  blue  stones  being  probably  older  than  the 
rest.^ 

Stonehenge  points  approximately  to  the  rising  of  the 
sun  on  Midsummer  Day,  and  visitors  still  go  every 
year  to  watch  the  interesting  spectacle  of  the  sun  rising 
over  the  so-called  "  Friar's  Heel"  (fig.  158). 

An  "  avenue,"  as  it  is  called,  formed  by  two  ancient 
earthen  banks,  which  were  formerly  more  marked  than 
they  are  now,  extends  for  a  considerable  distance  in 
the  direction  of  the  rising  sun.  In  Sir  N.  Lockyer's 
opinion  the  monument  is  a  temple,  was  originally  roofed 
in,  "  and  the  sun's  first  ray,  suddenly  admitted  into  the 
darkness,  formed  a  fundamental  part  of  the  cultus."  ^ 

This  was  important,  not  only  from  a  religious  point  of 
view,  but  as  marking  distinctly  and  officially  the  com- 
mencement of  a  new  annual  period,  which  was  useful  on 
various  grounds  and  especially  from  an  agricultural  point 
of  view. 

The    theory  assumes  that    when    the    monument  was 

'  Some  archaeologists,  however,  including  the  high  authority  of  Mr 
Fhnders  Petrie,  are  of  the  opposite  opinion.  There  are,  in  fact,  four  kinds 
of  stones  in  Stonehenge.  The  great  outer  circle  and  the  trilithons  are 
"  Sarcen  "  stones,  that  is  to  say,  they  are  formed  from  the  sandstone  blocks 
of  the  neighbourhood.  The  majority  of  the  small  pillars  forming  the  inner 
circle  consist  of  an  igneous  rock  known  as  Diabase,  but  four  stones  of  this 
series  are  schistoid,  and  resemble  some  of  the  Silurian  and  Cambrian  rocks 
of  North  Wales  and  Cumberland.  Lastly,  the  so-called  altar  stone  is  grey 
sandstone,  resembling  some  of  the  Devonian  and  Cambrian  rocks. 
Maskelyne,  Wz/fs.  Arch.  Magazine^  Oct.  1877.  It  has  been  said  that 
some  Roman  pottery  was  found  under  one  of  the  trilithons  at  Stonehenge. 
Mr  Cunnington,  however,  has  pointed  out  that  there  is  no  authority  for 
this  statement.      Wilts.  Arch.  Mag..,  Dec.  1883. 

2  Nature.,  Nov.  1901. 


134 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


erected  the  axis  pointed  exactly  to  the  rising  of  the  sun 
at  Midsummer  Day.  This,  however,  does  not  now  hold 
good,  but  Sir  N.  Lockyer  on  astronomical  grounds  con- 
cludes that  this  was  the  case  in  1680  b.c,  which  accordingly 


F.H. 


Fig.  158. — Plan  of  Stonehenge. 

he  considers  to  be  the   date    of    the  monument,  with  a 
possible  error  of  ±200  years. 

But  this  was  not  the  original  monument.  The  so- 
called  blue  stones  are  considered  by  most,  though  not  by 
all,  archaeologists  to  be  much  older,  and  Lockyer  suggests 
for  them  a  date  of  2680  b.c.  As  regards  Avebury,  since 
the  stones  are  all  in  their  natural  condition,  while  those 
of  Stonehenge  are  roughly  hewn,  it  seems  reasonable  to 
conclude  that  Avebury  is  the  older  of  the  two,  and  belongs 


CARNAC,   BRITTANY  135 

either  to  the  close  of  the  Stone  Age,  or  to  the  commence- 
ment of  that  of  Bronze. 

A  complete  burial-place  may  be  described  as  a  dolmen, 
covered  by  a  tumulus,  crowned  by  a  menhir,  sur- 
rounded by  a  stone  circle,  and  led  up  to  by  a  stone 
row.  Often,  however,  we  have  only  the  tumulus,  some- 
times only  the  dolmen,  and  sometimes  again  only  the 
stone  circle. 

The  celebrated  monument  of  Carnac  (fig.  159),  in 
Brittany,  consists  of  eleven  rows  of  unhewn  stones,  which 
differ  greatly  both  in  size  and  height,  the  largest  being 
22  feet  above  ground,  while  some  are  quite  small.  It 
appears  that  the  avenues  originally  extended  for  several 
miles,  but  at  present  they  are  very  imperfect,  the  stones 
having  been  cleared  away  in  places  for  agricultural  im- 
provements. At  present,  therefore,  there  are  several 
detached  portions,  which,  however,  have  the  same  general 
direction,  and  appear  to  have  been  connected  together. 

They  may,  I  think,  be  regarded  as  highly  developed 
examples  of  the  passage  which  leads  to  the  central 
chamber  in  so  many  tumuli,  or  corresponds  with  the 
covered  passage  leading  to  the  dwelling  in  arctic  regions. 

They  appear  to  have  always  terminated  in  a  circle, 
often,  however,  quite  insignificant  in  comparison  with  the 
stone  row. 

Most  of  the  great  tumuli  in  Brittany  probably  belong 
to  the  Stone  Age,  and  I  am  therefore  disposed  to  regard 
the  Carnac,  and  other  rows  of  stones,  as  having  been 
erected  during  the  same  period. 

Megalithic  erections,  resembling  those  which  are 
generally,  but  without  sufficient  reason,  ascribed  to  the 
Druids,  are  found  in  very  distant  countries.  In  Moab, 
De  Saulcy  observed  rude  stone  avenues,  and  other  monu- 
ments, which  he  compares  to  Celtic  dolmens.  Lieut. 
Oliver,  also,  mentions  that  the  Hovas  of  Madagascar  to 
this  day  erect  monoliths  and  stone  tombs  closely  resem- 
bling those  of  Western  Europe.^  Mr  Maurice  ^  was,  I 
believe,  the  first  to  point  out,  that  in  some  parts  of  India 
'   Trans.  Ethn.  Soc,  1870,  p.  67.  -  India  Antiqua. 


136 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


u 


INDIAN   DOLMENS  137 

there  are  various  monuments  of  stone,  which,  in  the  words 
of  Colonel  Yule,  "recall  strongly  those  mysterious,  solitary, 
or  clustered  monuments  of  unknown  origin,  so  long  the 
puzzle  and  delight  of  antiquaries,  which  abound  in  our 
native  country,  and  are  seen  here  and  there  in  all  parts 
of  Europe  and  Western  Asia."^  Mr  Fergusson  goes 
farther,  and  argues  with  great  ingenuity  that  the  "Buddhist 
architecture  in  India,  as  practised  from  the  third  century 
B.C.  to  seventh  a.d.,  is  essentially  tumular,  circular,  and 
external,  thus  possessing  the  three  great  characteristics  of 
all  the  so-called  Druidical  remains."  -  These  resemblances, 
indeed,  are  too  great  to  be  accidental,  and  the  differences 
represent,  not  so  much  a  difference  in  style,  as  in  civiliza- 
tion. "  In  the  most  celebrated  example  in  India,  that  at 
Sanchee,  the  circle  consists  of  roughly  squared  upright 
stone  posts,  joined  at  the  top  by  an  architrave  of  the 
same  thickness  as  the  posts,  exactly  as  at  Stonehenge  ; 
the  only  difference  being  the  insertion  of  three  stone  rails 
between  each  of  the  uprights,  which  is  a  masonic  refine- 
ment hardly  to  be  expected  among  the  Celts."  In  India, 
then,  the  circles  of  stones  seem  generally  to  have  sur- 
rounded tumuli  ;  but  this  is  not  always  the  case,  and 
there  are  some  "  which  apparently  enclose  nothing." 
Again,  they  are  generally  covered  with  sculpture  ;  but  to 
this  also  there  are  exceptions,  as,  for  instance,  at  Amravati, 
where  there  are  numberless  little  circles  of  rude  unhewn 
stone,  identical  with  those  in  this  country,  but  smaller. 

In  Europe  we  know  that  the  stones  of  megalithic 
monuments  are  almost  invariably  uncarved. 

There  is  indeed  a  dolmen,  near  Confolens  in  Charente, 
in  which  the  upper  stone  is  supported,  not  on  rude  stone 
blocks,  but  on  four  slender  columns.^  I  agree,  however, 
with  M.  Rochebrune,  that  the  supports  were  probably 
carved  at  a  period  long  subsequent  to  the  erection  of  the 

'  Jour,  of  the  Asiat.  Soc.  of  Jiengal,  vol.  xiii.  p.  617.  See  also  Pfoc. 
Soc.  Antiq.  Scotland.,  vol.  i.  p.  93.  Babington,  Trans.  Lit.  Soc.  Bombay, 
1823.  Congreve,  Madras  Jour,  of  Lit.  and  Science,  1847.  Yule,  yV(7f. 
Soc.  Ant.  .Scotland,  vol.  i.  p.  93.  Wise,  ditto,  p.  154.  Hooker's  L/iiiia- 
layan  Journals.     Taylor,  Trans.  Roy.  IrisJi  Acad.,  vol.  xxiv.,  etc. 

-  Loc.  cit.,  p.  212.  ^  Siatistique  Mofiumcninlc  dc  la  Charente. 


138  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

monument.  ^  It  is  one  of  the  many  cases  in  which  mega- 
Hthic  monuments  have  been  "  christianised."  Many  of 
the  French  menhirs  have  had  a  cross  fixed  at  the  top,  and 
one  is  built  into  the  wall  of  the  cathedral  at  Mans.^  At 
Stonehenge  the  stones  are  carefully  hewn,  but  at  this 
stage  the  megalithic  architecture  in  Western  Europe  seems 
to  have  been  replaced  by  a  totally  different  style.  In 
Algeria,^  on  the  contrary,  it  advanced  further  ;  we  there 
find  tumuli  of  regular  masonry  and  stone  circles,  in  which 
the  floors  are  paved.  On  the  principal  stones  in  one  of  the 
stone  circles  are  letters,  the  meaning  of  which,  however, 
is  unknown.  In  India  it  reached  a  still  higher  stage  of 
development,  so  that  it  requires  an  observant  eye  to 
detect  in  the  rude  cromlechs,  stone  circles,  and  tumuli, 
the  prototypes  of  the  highly  decorated  architecture  of  the 
Buddhists. 

It  is  a  very  remarkable  fact,  that  even  to  the  present 
day,  some  of  the  hill  tribes  in  India  continue  to  erect 
menhirs,  cromlechs,  and  other  combinations  of  gigantic 
stones,  sometimes  singly,  sometimes  in  rows,  sometimes 
in  circles,  in  either  case  very  closely  resembling  those 
found  in  Western  Europe.  Among  the  Khasias,*  "  the 
funeral  ceremonies  are  the  only  ones  of  any  importance, 
and  are  often  conducted  with  barbaric  pomp  and  expense  ; 
and  rude  stones  of  gigantic  proportions  are  erected  as 
monuments,  singly  or  in  rows,  circles,  or  supporting  one 
another  like  those  of  Stonehenge,  which  they  rival  in 
dimensions  and  appearance." 

Dalton  ^  mentions  several  menhirs  erected  by  the 
present  generation  in  memory  of  relatives  who  have 
recently  died. 

An  interesting  account  is  given  by  Dr  Inman,  on  the 
authority  of  Mr  Greey,  of  the  mode  in  which  these  large 

1  Mem.  siir  les  Restes  d'itidusMe  appurtenant  aux  temps  prhnordiaicx 
da?is  le  Dtp.  de  la  Charente.,  1 866. 

2  Delechette,  Archcol.  Pn'hist.,  p.  440. 

^  Recueil  des  Notices  et  Me't/ioires  de  la  Societc  A  rchcologique  de  la 
Provi?tce  de  Constantine,  1863,  p.  214.  See  also  Letourneux,  Ar.  f. 
Anthropologic,  1868,  p.  307. 

*  Dr  Hooker's  Himalayan  Jour.,  vol.  ii.  p.  276.     See  also  p.  320, 

^  Ethnology  of  Bengal,  p.  203. 


INDIAN   DOLMENS  139 

blocks  of  stone  are  moved.  Two  long  horizontal  poles 
are  placed  under  the  stone  pillar,  and  firmly  lashed  to  it, 
one  at  each  end.  At  intervals  of  about  three  feet  other 
poles  were  then  fastened  to  the  two  first,  parallel  to  the 
stone  pillar,  so  that  a  large  number  of  men  could  get  a 
firm  hand-hold.  In  this  manner  Mr  Greey  saw  a  stone 
about  30  feet  long,  10  feet  broad,  and  weighing  about 
24  tons,  easily  moved  by  about  600  men.^ 

The  single  pillars  are  sometimes  tombstones,  sometimes 
memorials  of  important  events.  Colonel  Yule  once  asked 
a  native  if  there  were  any  tradition  about  one  of  these 
pillars,  which  is  known  as  Mausmai,  i.e.  "  the  stone  of 
the  oath."  "  There  was  war,"  said  the  man,  "  between 
two  villages,  and  when  they  made  peace,  and  swore  to  it, 
they  erected  this  stone  for  a  witness.^'  ^ 

Sir  Joseph  Hooker^  has  called  attention  to  the  fact  that 
the  Khasian  word  for  a  stone,  "  Mau,"  as  commonly 
occurs  in  the  names  of  their  villages  and  places,  as  that  of 
Man,  Maen,  and  Men,  does  in  those  of  Brittany,  Wales, 
Cornwall,  etc.  ;  thus  Mausmai  signifies  in  Khasia  the 
Stone  of  Oath, — Mamloo,  the  Stone  of  Salt,— Mouflong, 
the  Grassy  Stone, — just  as  in  Wales,  Penmaenmawr 
signifies  the  Hill  of  the  Big  Stone  ;  while  a  menhir  is  a 
standing  stone,  and  a  dolmen  a  table  stone,  etc.  Those 
who  believe  that  the  use  of  metal  was  introduced  into 
Europe  by  a  race  of  Indo-European  origin,  will  find  in 
these  facts  an  interesting  confirmation  of  their  opinion. 

How  closely  these  Indian  dolmens  resemble  those  of 
Europe  maybe  seen  by  comparing  figs.  160  and  161  with 
147  and  148. 

The  Indian  dolmens,  as  shown  in  the  valuable  memoirs 
by  Colonel  Meadows  Taylor*  (figs.  160,  161),  may  truly 
be  said  to  be  identical  with  those  of  Western  Europe. 
He  examined  a  very  considerable  number,  having  obtained 
particulars  of  no  less  than  2129  dolmens  in  the  district  of 

1  Proceedings  Lit.  and  P kilos.  Soc.  of  Liveipool.,  vol.  xxx.  p.  io8. 
^  Proc.  Soc.  Antiq.  Scotland.,  vol.  i.  p.  93. 
■*  Address  to  the  British  Association.,  1 868,  p.  7. 

^  Trans.  R.  Irish  Academy,  vol.  xxiv.  p.  329.  See  also  Col.  Forbes 
Leslie's  valuable  work,  The  Early  Races  of  Scotland, 


140 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


Bellary,  in  the  Dekkan,  and  it  is  interesting  that,  as  is 
sometimes  the  case  in  Europe,  more  than  iioo  had  an 


Fig.  160. — Indian  Dolmen,     After  Colonel  Meadows  Taylor. 

opening  in  one  of  the  side  stones,  perhaps  in  order  to 
introduce  food,  perhaps  as  an  exit  for  the  spirit  of  the 
dead.  Montperieux  figures  (pi.  xxx.)  a  dolmen  with  a 
similar  hole,  in  his  work  on  the  Caucasus. 


Fig.  161. — Indian  Dolmen.     After  Colonel  Meadows  Taylor. 

Schoolcraft  also  mentions  that  in  the  United  States  the 
Redskins  very  frequently  left  an  opening  in  the  grave 
cover  for  the  same  purpose.^ 

1  Schoolcraft's  Itidfan  T}-ibes,  pt.  i.  p.  2>y 


MODES   OF    BURIAL   IN   TUMULI       141 

Archaeologists  are  divided  as  to  whether  dolmens  were 
in  all  cases  originally  covered  over  with  earth.  Mr 
Fergusson  denies  this,  while  it  has  been  ably  maintained 
by  Mr  Lukis.  It  must,  I  think,  be  admitted  that  some 
of  the  cases  relied  on  by  Mr  Fergusson  must  be  aban- 
doned ;  nevertheless,  I  am  disposed  to  believe  that  in 
some  instances  the  dolmen  was  left  uncovered. 

The  majority  of  these  dolmens  were  no  doubt  sepulchral. 
Some,  however,  were  very  probably  shrines,  erected  in 
honour  of  a  god,  not  of  a  man.  Mr  Walhouse,  in  an 
interesting  paper  on  non-sepulchral  rude  stone  monu- 
ments,^ describes  a  dolmen  consisting  of  back  and  side 
slabs  set  on  edge,  observed  by  him  on  the  table-land  of 
Mysore,  and  which  was  a  temple  to  Hanuman,  containing 
a  rude  image  of  the  god,  with  a  few  flowers  strewn  before 
it.  Subsequently  he  found  these  temple  dolmens  in 
common  use  by  the  Malayalies,  a  Tamil  race  inhabiting 
the  Shiarai  Hills. 

We  must  not,  however,  attribute  too  much  importance 
to  the  similarity  existing  between  the  megalithic  erections 
in  various  parts  of  the  world.  Give  any  child  a  box  of 
bricks,  and  it  will  immediately  build  dolmens,  cromlechs, 
and  "  trilithons,"  like  those  of  Stonehenge,  so  that  the 
construction  of  these  remarkable  monuments  may  be 
regarded  as  another  illustration  of  the  curious  similarity 
existing  between  the  child  and  the  savage. 

Tumuli  or  barrows  are  much  more  numerous  and 
more  widely  distributed  than  stone  circles.  No  doubt 
the  great  majority  of  them  are  burial  mounds,  but  some 
also  were  erected  as  memorials,  like  the  "  heap  of  witness  " 
erected  by  Laban  and  Jacob,  or  the  mound  heaped  up  by 
the  Ten  Thousand  in  their  celebrated  retreat,  when  they 
obtained  their  first  view  of  the  sea. 

The  tumuli  were  generally  constructed  of  materials 
found  on  the  spot,  the  cists,  however,  and  chambers,  when 
present,  being  often  built  of  slabs  brought  from  a  distance. 
Generally  the  earth,  etc.,  is  heaped  up  without  any  order, 
having  been,  at  any  rate  in  many  cases,  dug  with  deer's- 
^  Jour.  Anthr.  Inst.,  Aug.  1877. 


142  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

horn  picks,  and  carried  to  the  mound  perhaps  in  baskets. 
In  other  cases  the  materials  are  arranged  in  more  or  less 
regular  layers. 

The  size  of  the  tumulus  may  be  taken  as  a  rough 
indication  of  the  estimation  in  which  the  deceased  was 
held,  as  James  ^  also  tells  us  was  the  case  among  the  North 
American  Indians.  The  Scotch  Highlanders  ^  have  a 
complimentary  proverb,  "  Curri  mi  clach  er  du  cuirn,"  i.e. 
"  I  will  add  a  stone  to  your  cairn  "  ;  and  I  am  informed 
by  Mr  R.  Gray  that  the  custom  still  exists  in  the  Hebrides, 
as  it  does  among  various  savage  and  semi-savage  races. 

The  remark  made  by  Schoolcraft  as  regards  the 
American  Indians  is  applicable  to  many  savage  tribes. 
"  Nothing  that  the  dead  possessed  was  deemed  too  valu- 
able to  be  interred  with  the  body.  The  most  costly  dress, 
arms,  ornaments,  and  implements,  are  deposited  in  the 
grave  "  ;  which  is  "^placed  in  the  choicest  scenic  situations 
— on  some  crowning  hill  or  gentle  eminence  in  a  secluded 
valley."  And  the  North  American  Indians  are  said,  even 
until  within  the  last  few  years,  to  have  long  cherished  a 
friendly  feeling  for  the  French,  because,  in  the  time  of 
their  supremacy,  they  had  at  least  this  one  great  merit, 
that  they  never  disturbed  the  resting-places  of  the  dead. 

Coffins  do  not  appear  to  have  been  used  in  ancient 
times.  Canon  Greenwell  has  sometimes  found  traces  of 
decayed  wood,  and  in  one  case  the  side  of  a  grave  showed 
the  impression  of  a  rough  board.  Such  burials,  I  believe, 
generally  belong  to  the  Bronze  Age.  A  good  example  is 
that  of  Gristhorpe,  near  Scarborough,  described  by  Prof. 
Williamson,  which,  among  other  relics,  contained  a  small 
bronze  dagger.  The  majority  of  tumuli  are  mere  heaps 
of  earth,  or  of  stones,  covering  the  bones  or  ashes  of  the 
dead  ;  in  many  cases,  however,  the  mound  contains  a  cist 
of  stones,  evidently  intended  to  protect  the  remains  of  the 
deceased,  while  in  other  cases  the  dead  man  was  buried  in 
a  dolmen,  more  or  less  resembling  those  represented  in 
figs.  1 46- 148,  and  the  whole  was  then  covered  over.     Such 

^  Expedition  to  the  Rocky  Mountains^  vol.  ii.  p.  2. 

■-'  Wilson,  Prehistoric  Annals  0/ Scotla?id,  vol.  i.  p.  86,  2nd  ed. 


MODES   OF   BURIAL   IN   TUMULI       143 

dolmens,  either  covered  or  uncovered,  occur,  as  already 
mentioned,  in  Northern  Africa  and  in  India.  Some 
archaeologists  have  considered  that  all  dolmens  were 
originally  covered  with  earth  or  stones,  but  I  think  the 
evidence  shows  that  some  at  least  were  intentionally  left 
exposed. 

It  is  just  possible  that  the  comparative  rarity  of 
chambered  tumuli  in  England  and  France  may  be  con- 
nected with  the  greater  mildness  of  the  climate,  which 
did  not  necessitate  the  use  of  underground  "  winter- 
houses  "  ;  or  it  may  be  an  indication  of  a  difference  in 
race.  Further  investigations  will,  doubtless,  decide  this 
point.  In  the  meantime  we  must  remember  that  the 
so-called  "  Picts-houses "  are  abundant  in  the  northern 
parts  of  Great  Britain.  These  curious  dwellings  are 
"  scarcely  distinguishable  from  the  larger  tumuli  ;  but  on 
digging  into  the  green  mound,  it  i?  found  to  cover  a 
series  of  large  chambers,  built  generally  with  stones  of 
considerable  size,  and  converging  towards  the  centre, 
where  an  opening  appears  to  have  been  left  for  light  and 
ventilation.  These  differ  little  from  many  of  the  sub- 
terranean weems,  excepting  that  they  are  erected  on  the 
natural  surface  of  the  soil,  and  have  been  buried  by 
means  of  an  artificial  mound  heaped  over  them."  ^ 

According  to  Mr  Bateman,  who  has  recorded  the 
systematic  opening  of  more  than  four  hundred  tumuli 
(a  very  large  proportion  of  which  were  investigated  in 
his  presence),  and  whose  opinion  is  therefore  of  great 
value,  the  leading  feature  of  these  ancient  British 
sepulchral  mounds  is,  that  they  enclose  either  an  artless 
stone  vault,  or  chamber,  or  a  stone  chest,  otherwise  called 
a  Kistvaen,  built  with  more  or  less  care  ;  and,  in  other 
cases,  a  grave  cut  out  more  or  less  below  the  natural 
surface  and  lined,  if  need  be,  with  stone  slabs,  in  which 
the  body  was  placed  in  a  perfect  state,  or  reduced  to 
ashes  by  fire."  ^ 

The    "  long   barrows "    are    rarer  ;    they    resemble,    in 

'  Wilson,  loc.  ctt.,  vol.  i.  p.  i6i. 

^  Bateman,  Ten  Years'  Diggings,  p.  ii. 


144 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


some  respects,  the  Scandinavian  "  Ganggraben,"  and, 
like  them,  in  districts  where  large  blocks  of  stones  occur, 
contain  megalithic  chambers,  in  which  the  dead  were 
buried  and  not  burnt.  No  trace  of  metal  has  yet  been 
found  in  this  class  of  tumulus  ;  which  therefore  probably 
belongs  to  the  Stone  Age.  The  skulls  found  in  these 
tumuli  are  long  and  narrow  skulls,  which  have  received 
from  Dr  Wilson  the  name  of  "  Kumbecephalic,"  or  boat- 
shaped  skulls,  resembling  the  one  in  fig.  162,  which  was 
obtained  by  Mr  Bateman  from  the  tumulus  known  as 
"  Longlow,"  near  Watton,  in  Derby- 
shire. This  tumulus  contained  the 
remains  of  thirteen  individuals,  who 
had  been  buried  in  the  usual  con- 
tracted position.  They  were  con- 
tained in  a  cist  composed  of  large 
stones,  and  were  accompanied  with 
several  worked  flints,  including  three 
carefully  made  arrow-heads.  Long 
skulls  are  comparatively  rare  in  the 
round  tumuli  of  England,  while,  on 
the  contrary,  no  round  skulls  have 
yet  been  met  with  in  the  long  tumuli, 
at  any  rate  in  Wiltshire  and  Glouces- 
tershire :  so  that  the  evidence  appears 
to  support  Dr  Thurnam's  aphorism,  long  barrows,  long 
skulls  ;  round  barrows,  round  skulls.^  This  conclusion 
rests  on  the  measurements  of  137  skulls,  70  from  round 
barrows  and  67  from  long  ones,  and  it  must  be  observed 
that  these  are  not  selected  specimens,  but,  so  far  as  the 
long-barrow  skulls  are  concerned.  Comprise  the  whole 
number  which  we  possess  in  a  sufficiently  perfect  con- 
dition ;  while,  as  regards  the  70  from  round  tumuli, 
Dr  Thurnam  has  taken  the  whole  number  (41)  contained 
in  the  Bateman  collection,  those  described  in  the  Crania 
Britannica^  and  all  those  in  his  own  collection.  It  is 
important  to  observe,  therefore,  that  in  neither  case  has 
any  selection  been  made  which  could  influence  the  re- 
^  Mem.  Anthropological  Soc,  vol.  i. 


Fig.  162. — Kumbecephalic 
skull  from  Derbyshire. 
After  Bateman. 


LONG   BARROWS  145 

suits.  Now  if  we  class  those  skulls  in  which  the  relation 
of  the  breadth  to  the  length  is  less  than  73  to  100  as 
long  heads,  or  Dolichocephalic,  those  in  which  it  is  from 
74-79  to  100  as  medium  heads,  and  those  in  which  the 
proportion  is  80  or  more  than  80  to  100  as  short  heads, 
or  Brachycephalic,  we  shall  have  the  following  result  : — 


Total 

Dolicho- 

Ortho- 

Brachy- 

number 

cephalic 

cephalic 

cephalic 

of  skulls. 

63-73- 

74-79- 

80-89. 

Long  barrows     .   67 

55 

12 

0 

Round  barrows  .   70 

0 

26 

44 

Thus  there  is  not  a  single  long  head  among  the  70 
specimens  from  round  barrows,  nor  a  single  round  head 
among  the  67  specimens  from  long  barrows.  So  remark- 
able a  distinction  certainly  appears  to  imply  a  difference 
of  race. 

The  more  recent  researches  of  Canon  Greenwell  and 
Dr  Rolleston  confirm  these  views.  They  have  never 
found  a  round  skull  in  a  long  barrow.  On  the  other  hand, 
although  Dr  Thurnam  found  no  long  skulls  in  round 
barrows,  yet,  unless  the  long-headed  race  were  entirely 
destroyed  by  the  men  with  round  heads,  we  should 
naturally  expect  that,  though  the  round  heads  would 
preponderate  in  the  later  round  barrows,  still  skulls  of 
the  earlier  long-headed  race  would  sometimes  occur  ;  and 
this  we  find  is  really  the  case.  The  women  at  any  rate 
of  the  earlier  race  were  probably  not  wholly  exterminated. 

Dr  Thurnam  is  disposed  to  refer  the  Dolichocephalic 
people  to  the  Neolithic  Age,  the  Brachycephalic  to  that 
of  Bronze. 

It  seems  to  me  that  both  existed  during  the  Neolithic 
Period.  Many,  if  not  most,  of  the  round  barrows  are 
certainly  referable  to  this  phase  in  our  history. 

As  yet,  no  bone  belonging  to  any  of  the  extinct 
mammalia  has  been  found  in  a  tumulus.  Even  the  rein- 
deer, so  far  as  our  present  evidence  goes,  is  entirely 
wanting.  Again,  the  stone  implements,  as  already 
mentioned,  are  of  a  character  very  different  from  those 

10 


146  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

used  by  Palaeolithic  men.  It  is  therefore  not  surprising 
to  find  that  the  skulls  which  have  been  obtained  from 
tumuli  attributed  to  the  Stone  Age,  indicate  that  Europe 
was,  even  at  that  period,  already  inhabited  by  more  than 
one  race  of  men. 

On  the  Continent,  as  in  England,  some  are  brachy- 
cephalic,  or  short-headed,  and  so  far  resemble  those  of 
the  Lapps,  while  others  are  dolichocephalic,  or  long- 
headed^ (fig.  162).  Virchow^  has  published  a  memoir 
on  the  skulls  obtained  from  Danish  tumuli,  and  contained 
in  the  Copenhagen  Museum.  Omitting  fragmentary 
specimens,  and  those  belonging  to  young  persons,  he  has 
examined  41  skulls  referred  to  the  Stone  Age,  3  to  the 
Bronze  Age,  and  5  to  the  Iron  Age,  and  compared  them 
with  the  specimens  of  Lapp  (6),  Greenland  (5),  and  Finn 
(3)  skulls  contained  in  the  same  collection.  On  the 
whole,  these  Stone  Age  skulls  are  orthocephalic,  inclining 
to  brachycephalism  ;  the  Bronze  Age  and  Iron  Age 
specimens  are  dolichocephalic,  but  it  must  be  remarked 
that  it  would  not  be  safe  to  draw  any  definite  conclusion 
from  so  small  a  number  of  specimens  ;  and  that  even  if 
the  Bronze  Age  indicates  the  immigration  of  a  new  race 
into  Western  Europe,  they  would  probably  not  exter- 
minate the  earlier  inhabitants,  but  would  at  any  rate  spare 
the  young  women,  so  that,  until  we  have  a  considerable 
body  of  evidence,  it  would  be  very  unsafe  to  speculate 
on  the  character  of  the  population    during    the    Bronze 

The  Lapps  and  Finns  are  brachycephalic  ;  but  Virchow 
observes  that  if  in  this  respect  the  skulls  of  the  latter 
resemble  the  type  of  the  Danish  Stone  Age,  they  differ 
greatly  in  height  and  breadth,  so  that  no  ethnic  affinity 
can  be  predicated  between  them. 

In  some  cases  the  skulls  obtained  from  one  and  the 
same  buried  mound  differ  from  one  another  very  con- 
siderably. Thus  among  those  found  in  the  great  tumulus 
at  Borreby,  in  Denmark,  the  breadth,  taking  the  length 

^  Nilsson's  Stone  Age,  English  ed.,  p.  121. 
-  Ar.  fur  Anthropologie,  1870,  p.  55. 


OBJECTS   BURIED   WITH   THE   DEAD     147 

at  100,  varied  from  71 -8  to  857,  or  no  less  than  14  per 
cent.^ 

The  care  with  which  the  dead  were  interred,  and  the 
custom  of  burying  implements  with  them,  may  fairly  be 
regarded  as  indicating  the  existence  of  a  belief  in  the 
immortality  of  the  soul,  and  in  a  material  existence  after 
death. 

The  objects  buried  with  the  dead  are  sometimes 
numerous,  and  always  interesting.  In  a  large  tumulus 
near  Everley,  a  deposit  of  burnt  bones  was  "  surrounded 
by  a  circular  wreath  of  horns  of  the  red-deer  "  ;  whilst  at 
a  higher  level,  though  three  feet  from  the  summit,  was 
the  skeleton  of  a  small  dog,  the  "attendant  in  the  chase, 
and  perhaps  the  victim  in  death,"  of  the  hunter,  whose 
exquisitely  chipped  arrow-heads,  five  in  number,  were 
deposited  with  his  ashes.^ 

But  it  is  very  far  from  being  "  constantly "  the  case 
that  the  dead  were  so  well  supplied  with  what  we  call 
the  necessaries  of  life  ;  indeed,  it  is  the  exception  and  not 
the  rule.  Thus,  out  of  more  than  2  50  interments  described 
by  Sir  R.  Colt  Hoare  in  the  first  volume  of  his  great  work 
on  Ancient  Wiltshire^  only  1 8  had  any  implements  of  stone, 
only  31  of  bone,  67  of  bronze,  and  1 1  of  iron  ;  and 
while  pottery  was  present  in  107,  more  than  60  of  these 
contained  only  sepulchral  urns,  intended  to  receive  the 
ashes  of  the  dead,  and  certainly  never  meant  to  hold  food. 
So  far,  however,  as  stone  implements  are  concerned.  Sir 
R.  C.  Hoare  appears  to  have  overlooked  the  ruder  instru- 
ments and  weapons.  I  will,  therefore,  rely  principally 
on  the  evidence  afforded  by  the  researches  of  Mr  Bateman 
and  Canon  Greenwell. 

Although  a  large  number  of  the  interments  described 
by  Mr  Bateman  had  been  already  examined,  there  were 
297  which  had  not  been  already  disturbed,  and  though 
he  carefully  mentions  even  the  rudest  bit  of  chipped  flint, 
no  less  than  100  of  these  were  without  any  implement  at 
all,  either  of  stone  or  metal,  and  the  drinking-vessels  and 
food-vases  were  only  about  40  in   number.      Moreover, 

^  Busk,  Vogfs  Lectures  on  Man,  p.  384.         "  Archaologia,  xliii.  p.  536. 


148  PREHISTORIC  TIMES 

lest  it  should  be  supposed  that  these  ill-provided  inter- 
ments were  those  of  poor  persons  or  enemies,  we  will 
leave  all  these  out  of  consideration.  This  we  can  easily 
do.  We  may  be  sure  that  these  tumuli,  which  must 
have  required  much  labour,  were  only  raised  in  honour 
of  the  rich  or  great  ;  though  they  may  have  served,  and, 
no  doubt,  often  did  serve  afterwards,  as  burial-places  for 
the  poor.  But  it  is  almost  always  easy  to  distinguish  the 
primary  interment  ;  for  though  there  are  some  few  cases 
in  which  the  original  occupant  has  been  ignominiously 
ejected  from  his  grave  to  make  room  for  a  successor, 
these  instances  are  rare,  and  can  generally  be  detected, 
while  the  secondary  interments  are  usually  situated  either 
above  the  first  or  on  the  sides  of  the  tumulus.  The 
same  feeling  which  made  our  ancestors  prefer  to  bury 
their  dead  in  a  pre-existing  tumulus,  generally  prevented 
them  from  desecrating  the  earlier  interments. 

In  the  following  tables,  then,  I  have  recorded  the 
primary  interments  only  ;  the  first  column  contains  the 
name  of  the  tumulus,  the  succeeding  nine  indicate  the 
disposition  of  the  corpse,  and  the  articles  found  therewith, 
while  the  last  is  reserved  for  any  special  remarks.  Out 
of  139  interments  examined  by  Mr  Bateman,  only  105 
had  any  implements  or  weapons,  and  only  35  were 
accompanied  by  any  pottery  that  can  have  held  either 
food  or  drink.  Moreover,  if  we  examine  the  nature 
of  the  implements  which  were  deposited  with  the  dead, 
we  shall  find  that  they  are  far  from  representing  complete 
sets  of  tools  or  ornaments.  The  rarity  of  bronze  in 
tombs  is,  perhaps,  not  surprising  ;  but  to  men  so  practised 
as  our  predecessors,  it  must  have  been  an  easy  matter  to 
make  a  rude  arrow-head,  or  a  flint  flake.  Yet  some  of 
the  corpses  are  accompanied  by  but  one  single  arrow- 
head, others  by  a  small  flint  flake  ;  some,  again,  by  a 
single  scraper.  Such  isolated  objects  may  in  many  cases 
have  been  dropped  accidentally.  It  must  also  be  observed 
that  many  of  the  stone  objects  found  by  Mr  Bateman 
are  much  ruder  than  might  be  supposed  from  the  names 
he  has  given  them. 


OBJECTS   BURIED   WITH   THE   DEAD     149 

In  the  table  (p.  154)  with  which  Canon  Greenwell  has 
been  so  good  as  to  furnish  me,  and  which  shows  the 
primary  deposits  in  102  tumuli  examined  by  him,  it 
will  be  observed  that  only  30  contained  any  implement, 
the  other  72  being  altogether  bare.^  They  were  always 
buried  in  a  contracted  position,^  or  burnt,  and  there  is 
not  a  single  case  in  which  the  corpse  was  deposited  in 
that  extended  position  which  seems  to  us  so  natural. 

Thus,  then,  there  seems  to  have  been  no  intention  of 
depositing  with  each  corpse  a  complete  set  of  implements. 
The  barrow  on  Cronkstone  Hill,  for  instance,  contained 
the  skeleton  of  a  man,  with  whom  had  been  buried  the 
burnt  bones  of  someone,  probably  a  slave,  or,  perhaps,  a 
wife,  who  had  been  sacrificed  at  his  grave,  and  yet  the  only 
implement  found  with  him  was  a  "circular  instrument," 
probably  a  flint  scraper  or  a  sling-stone.  Again,  the 
mound  known  as  "  Cow  Low  "  contained  only  a  bone 
pin.  The  affectionate  relatives  who  heaped  up  this 
tumulus  would  certainly  not  have  sent  their  dead  sister 
into  the  new  world  with  nothing  but  a  bone  pin,  if  they 
had  thought  that  the  things  they  buried  with  her  could 
be  of  any  use.  Even  the  great  tumulus  at  Arbor  Low 
contained  only  a  bone  pin,  a  piece  of  iron  pyrites,  a 
kidney-shaped  instrument  of  flint,  and  two  vases.  It 
would  be  easy  to  multiply  illustrations,  and  it  is,  I  think, 
sufficiently  evident  that  the  articles  found  in  the  graves 
cannot  seriously  be  considered  as  afibrding  any  evidence  of 
a  definite  and  general  belief  in  a  future  state  of  existence, 
or  as  having  been  intended  for  the  use  of  the  dead  in  the 
new  world  to  which  they  were  going.  Moreover,  there 
is  a  well-marked  speciality  in  each  case,  which  seems  to 
show  that  the  presence  of  these  rude  implements,  far 
from  being  the  result  of  a  national  belief,  are  simply  the 
touching  evidence  of  individual  aff'ection. 

*  Canon  Greenwell's  subsequent  researches  have  tended  to  confirm  this. 
Out  of  379  burials,  63  only  had  implements  of  stone,  16  of  bronze,  and  4 
of  bone. 

2  The  custom  of  burying  the  dead  in  a  contracted  position  was  very 
widely  extended.  In  the  Neolithic  interments  of  Egypt  tlie  corpse  was 
always  in  this  attitude. 


I50 


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158  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

In  some  cases,  however,  the  facts  certainly  seem  to  indi- 
cate a  belief  that  the  dead  could  carry  their  wealth  with 
them  to  another  world.  For  instance,  Canon  Greenwell 
found  in  one  barrow^  no  less  than  79  saws,  17  scrapers, 
3  leaf-shaped  arrow-points,  2  pointed  tools  (probably  for 
boring),  several  flint  articles  of  uncertain  purpose,  a 
hammer-stone,  and  a  piece  of  a  greenstone  axe.  Many 
of  the  saws  were  very  delicately  serrated,  some  along 
both  edges,  and  showing  by  the  glaze  upon  the  edge  that 
they  had  been  in  use.  The  number  of  saws  in  this  case 
far  exceeded  the  aggregate  of  those  obtained  from  all  the 
barrows  he  had  opened  ;  and  though,  as  he  says,  "  it  is 
by  no  means  easy  to  give  any  reasonable  explanation  of 
the  phenomenon,"  I  would  venture  to  suggest  that  they 
were  regarded  as  wealth  ;  in  fact  as  a  form  of  money, 
which  would  enable  their  owner  to  purchase  what  he 
might  require. 

In  some  few  cases,  again,  small  models  of  weapons 
have  been  found,  in  lieu  of  the  weapons  themselves.  In 
modern  Esquimaux  graves,  small  models  of  kajaks, 
spears,  etc.,  are  sometimes  buried,  and  a  similar  fact  has 
been  observed  in  Egyptian  tombs.  Mr  Franks  informs 
me  that  much  of  the  jewellery  found  in  Etruscan  tombs 
is  so  thin  that  it  can  scarcely  have  been  intended  for  wear 
during  life.  In  Japan  those  who  are  entitled  to  wear 
swords  during  life  have  wooden  ones  placed  in  their 
graves,  as  insignia  of  rank  ;  and  it  has  long  been  the 
custom  in  China  to  bury  paper  cuttings,  or  drawings,  of 
horses,  money,  etc.,  under  the  belief  that  the  objects  so 
represented  will  be  actually  possessed  by  the  deceased.^ 

We  must  always  bear  in  mind  that  the  ancient  tumuli 
do  not  all  belong  to  one  period,  nor  to  one  race  of  men. 
No  tumuli  belonging  to  the  Palaeolithic  Period  have  yet 
been  discovered,  but  this  mode  of  burial  appears  to  have 
existed  in  Northern  and  Western  Europe  from  the 
Neolithic,  or  second  Stone  Period,  down  to  the  introduc- 
tion of  Christianity.     Indeed  it  was  the  examination  of 

'  British  Barrows^  p.  262. 

^  See,  for  instance,  Marco  Polo's  Travels,  Edinburgh,  1846,  pp.  248-260. 


PERIOD   OF   THE   BARROWS 


159 


the  tumuli  which  first  induced  Sir  R.  Colt  Hoare,  and 
other  archaeologists,  to  adopt  for  Northern  Europe  the 
division  into  three  great  periods. 

So  far,  however,  as  the  barrows  themselves  are  con- 
cerned (though  the  passage-graves  and  long  barrows 
seem  always  to  belong  to  the  Stone  Age),  we  are  not 
acquainted  with  any  external  differences  by  which  the 
tumuli  of  the  Stone,  Bronze,  and  Iron  Ages  can,  with 
certainty,  be  distinguished  from  one  another.  The 
contents  of  the  graves  are  more  instructive,  though  it 
would  of  course  be  unsafe  to  conclude  that  a  given 
tumulus  belongs  to  the  Stone  Age,  because  it  contained 
one  or  two  implements  made  of  that  material.  We 
know  that  stone  was  extensively  used  throughout  the 
Bronze  Age  ;  and,  indeed,  out  of  37  tumuli  in  which 
Mr  Bateman  found  objects  made  of  bronze,  no  less  than 
29  contained  also  stone  implements,  many  of  which, 
moreover,  were  extremely  rude. 

Evidently,  therefore,  the  mere  presence  of  a  few 
implements  of  stone  is  in  itself  no  sufficient  reason  for 
referring  any  given  interment  to  the  Stone  Age.  The 
following  tabular  statement  of  297  interments,  recorded 
by  Mr  Bateman,  will,  I  think,  be  found  interesting  : — 


Implements. 

Corpse. 

Total. 

Contracted, 
i.e.  in  a  sit- 
ting posture. 

Burnt. 

Ex- 
tended. 

Position 
uncer- 
tain. 

None 
Stone 
Bronze   . 
Iron 

Total 

27 
53 
15 

2 

63 

48 

10 

3 

3 

2 

5 
14 

7 

31 

7 

7 

100 
134 
37       ' 

26 

97 

124 

24 

52 

297 

These  interments  are  all  from  the  counties  of  Derby, 
Stafford,  and  York.  In  his  work  on  ancient  Wiltshire, 
Sir  R.  C.  Hoare  records  the  examination  of  267  inter- 
ments, which  may  be  tabulated  in  a  similar  manner,  as 
follows  : — 


i6o 


PREHISTORIC  TIMES 


Implements. 

Corpse. 

Total. 

Con- 
tracted. 

Burnt. 

Ex- 
tended. 

Position 

Un- 
certain. 



12 

I 
8 
4 

None    . 
Stone    . 
Bronze . 
Iron 

Total 

9 

2 

4 

i6o 

5 

49 

3 

I 
2 
7 

184 

9 

63 

II 

15 

214 

13 

25 

267 

We  see  that  in  these  tables  nearly  all  the  cases  of 
bronze  were  interments  in  which  the  body  was  contracted, 
preceded  by  cremation,  and  the  same  is  the  case  in  the 
Yorkshire  tumuli  examined  by  Canon  Greenwell.  As 
regards  the  Salisbury  Plain  tumuli,  1  am  disposed  to 
regard  the  great  majority  as  belonging  to  the  Bronze 
Age.  No  less  than  270  cluster  round  Stonehenge,  and 
it  seems  most  probable  that  the  dead  were  brought  from  a 
distance  to  lie  near  the  great  temple.  In  this  case  the  great 
majority  of  the  tumuli  belong,  therefore,  to  one  period, 
that,  namely,  at  which  the  temple  was  held  sacred.  Some 
few,  indeed,  may  be  referable  to  earlier  or  later  times,  but 
as  out  of  152  of  these  interments  which  were  examined 
by  Sir  R.  C.  Hoare,  no  less  than  39  contained  objects  of 
bronze,  I  am  disposed  to  regard  the  whole  group  as 
belonging  to  the  Bronze  Period.  Now  in  these  152 
cases  the  corpse  was  contracted  in  4  only,  and  extended 
in  3.  In  16  the  disposition  of  the  corpse  was  not 
ascertained,  and  in  no  less  than  129  it  had  been  burnt. 

If  we  combine  the  observations  of  Sir  R.  C.  Hoare  and 
Mr  Bateman,  we  shall  obtain  the  following  table  : — 


1 

Corpse. 

Total. 

1        Implements. 

Con- 
tracted. 

Burnt. 

Ex- 
tended. 

Position 

Un- 
certam. 

None    . 
Stone    . 
Bronze . 
Iron 

36 

55 

19 

2 

223 

53 

59 

3 

338 

6 

3 

7 

21 

19 
32 
15 
II 

284 

143 
100 

37 

Total 

112 

37 

77 

564 

PERIODS  TO  WHICH  TUMULI   BELONG    i6i 

Some  few  of  these  interments  were  no  doubt  Anglo- 
Saxon  ;  if  these  had  been  eliminated  the  argument  would 
have  appeared  still  stronger  ;  but  taking  them  as  they 
are,  out  of  37  graves  containing  iron  weapons  or  imple- 
ments, the  corpse  was  certainly  extended  in  21  cases,  and 
probably  so  in  several  others  ;  while,  out  of  no  less  than 
527  cases  in  which  iron  was  not  present,  the  corpse  was 
extended  only  in  16,  the  proportion  being  at  least  ^^ths  in 
one  case,  and  only  -g^g^rd  in  the  other.  On  the  whole  we 
may  certainly  conclude  that  this  mode  of  burial  was 
introduced  at  about  the  same  period  as  the  use  of  iron. 

As  regards  the  habit  of  burning  the  dead,  the  evidence 
is  less  conclusive.  Out  of  100  cases,  indeed,  of  graves 
characterized  by  the  presence  of  bronze,  the  corpse 
appears  to  have  been  buried  in  a  contracted  posture 
19  times  only;  in  an  extended  position,  only  7  times. 
It  would  seem,  therefore,  that  during  the  Bronze  Age 
the  dead  were  generally  burnt.  It  is  also  true  that  there 
are  many  cases  in  which  interments  by  cremation,  if  I 
may  use  such  an  expression,  contain  no  weapons  or 
objects  of  bronze.  We  know,  however,  that  this  metal 
must  always  have  been  expensive,  and  it  is  not  unreason- 
able to  suppose  that  many,  at  any  rate,  of  these  interments 
may  belong  to  the  Bronze  Age,  although  no  objects  of 
metal  occurred  in  them. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  in  the  Neolithic  Stone 
Age  it  was  usual  to  bury  the  corpse  in  a  sitting  or 
contracted  posture  ;  and,  indeed,  it  appears  probable, 
although  far  from  being  satisfactorily  established,  that  in 
Western  Europe  this  attitude  generally  indicates  an 
interment  of  the  Stone  Age  ;  while  those  cases  in  which 
the  skeleton  was  extended  may  be  referred,  with  little 
hesitation,  to  the  Age  of  Iron.  At  the  same  time  we 
must  remember  that  in  Anglo-Saxon  times  the  dead  were 
burned  by  some  tribes,  and  buried  by  others,  and  there 
may  well  have  been  differences  during  the  Stone  Age 
also  between  different  tribes. 

But  although  the  presence  of  a  few  flint  flakes,  or 
other  stone  implements,  is  certainly  no  sufficient  reason 

II 


i62  PREHISTORIC  TIMES 

for  referring  any  given  tumulus  to  the  Stone  Age,  the 
case  is  different  where  a  large  number  of  objects  have 
been  found  together  ;  for  instance,  I  have  in  my  col- 
lection a  group  of  stone  implements  consisting  of 
14  beautifully  made  axes,  wedges,  chisels,  spear-heads, 
etc.,  and  more  than  60  capital  flakes,  which  were  all 
found  together  in  one  of  the  large  Danish  sepulchral 
chambers,  on  the  Island  of  Moen,  and  have  been 
described  by  M.  Boye.^  The  tumulus  had  a  circum- 
ference of  140  ells,  and  a  height  of  about  8  ells.  It 
is  probable  that  it  had  been  surrounded  by  a  circle 
of  stones,  for  M.  Jensen,  the  owner,  remembered  that, 
many  years  before,  the  northern  side  had  been  surrounded 
by  a  row  of  stones  standing  close  together.  None  of  them, 
however,  at  present  remain.  Unfortunately  M.  Boye  was 
not  present  when  they  began  to  remove  the  tumulus  ; 
still  he  thinks  that  the  account  given  to  him  may  be 
relied  on  with  safety.  M.  Jensen  began  to  dig  on  the 
east  side  of  the  tumulus,  and  the  first  thing  which  he 
came  to  was  a  jar,  which  he  unfortunately  broke.  It 
contained  burnt  bones  and  a  bronze  pin,  the  head  of 
which  was  ornamented  with  concentric  lines.  Towards 
the  S.S.E.  was  found  a  cist,  about  an  ell  long,  and 
formed  of  flat  stones.  In  it  were  burnt  bones,  a  bent 
knife,  and  a  pair  of  pincers  two  inches  in  length  ;  both 
these  objects  were  of  bronze.  Not  far  from  this  cist  was 
another  urn,  containing  burnt  bones,  with  several  objects 
of  bronze,  namely,  a  knife  four  inches  in  length,  part  of  a 
small  symbolical  sword,  and  two  fragments  of  an  awl.  It 
is  evident  that  these  three  interments  belonged  to  the 
Bronze  Age,  and  also  that  they  were  secondary,  that  is  to 
say,  that  they  belonged  to  a  later  date  than  the  original 
sepulchral  chamber,  over  which  the  tumulus  had  been 
made. 

The  sepulchral  chamber  itself  (fig.  163)  lay  north  and 

south,  was  of  an  oval  form,  about  eight  and  a  half  ells  in 

length,  and  twenty  and  a  half  in  circumference,  and  about 

two  and  a  half  in  height.     The  walls  consisted  of  twelve 

'  Antialer for  Nordisk  Oldkyndighed  og  Histonc,  1858,  p.  202. 


CHAMBERED   TUMULI 


163 


very  large,  unhewn  stones,  which,  however,  did  not  in 
most  cases  touch  one  another,  but  left  intervals  which 
were  filled  up  by  smaller  stones.  The  roof  was  formed  by 
five  great  blocks,  the  spaces  between  them  being  filled  up 
by  smaller  ones.  The  passage,  which  was  on  the  east 
side,  was  five  ells  long  and  one  ell  broad,  and  was  formed 
by  eleven  side  stones  and  three  roof  stones.  At  the  place 
{a)  was,  on  each  side,  a  smaller  stone,  which  in  conjunction 
with  another  on 
the  floor  between  ■'^ 

them,  formed  a 
sort  of  threshold, 
probably  indicat- 
ing  the  place 
where  the  door 
stood.  Similar  ^ 
traces  of  a  door- 
way have  been 
found  in  other 
Danish  tumuli, 
and  may,  perhaps, 
be  taken  as  evi- 
dence that  the 
mounds  had  been 
used  previously 
as  houses  ;  at  the 
time  of  the  interment  the  construction  of  a  door  would 
have  been  simply  purposeless,  the  passage  heading  to 
it  being  filled  up  with  rubbish.  The  chamber  was  filled 
up  with  mould  to  within  half  an  ell  of  the  roof.  About 
the  middle,  not  far  from  the  bottom,  a  skeleton,  per- 
haps of  a  sacrificed  slave,  was  extended  (at  b)^  with  the 
head  towards  the  north.  On  the  south  side  (at  c  and  d) 
occurred  two  crania,  each  of  which  lay  on  a  quantity  of 
bones,  indicating  that  the  corpses  had  been  buried  in  a 
sitting  posture.  At  (e)  was  a  similar  skeleton,  close  to 
which  were  three  amber  beads,  a  beautiful  flint  axe,  which 
did  not  seem  to  have  been  ever  used,  a  small  unfinished 
chisel,  and  some  fragments  of  pottery,  ornamented  with 


Fig.  163. — Ground  plan  of  a  sepulchral  chamber  in  a 
large  tumulus  on  the  Island  of  Mcien. 


164 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


points  and  lines.  At  (/)  was  another  skeleton,  in  a 
similar  position,  with  a  flint  flake,  an  amber  bead,  and 
some  fragments  of  pottery.  Figs.  164,  165  represent 
one  of  the  skulls  from  this  stone  chamber.  Several  other 
skeletons  were  found  sitting  round  the  side  walls,  but 
they  had  unluckily  been  removed  and  thrown  away  before 
the  arrival  of  M.  Boye.  With  them  were  at  least  twenty 
different  jars  or  urns,  all  of  them  inverted,  and  prettily 
decorated  with  points  and  lines. 

Besides  these  objects,  the  earth  in  the  chamber  contained 
5  flint  spear-heads,  a  fragment    of   a  flint    spear    which 


Fic.    164.^ — Brachycephalic  skull  from  Fig.  165. — Ditto,  side  view, 

the  same  tumulus,  one-quarter  of  the 
natural  size. 

had  been  broken  and  worked  up  again,  2  small  flint 
chisels,  53  flint  flakes,  varying  from  three  to  five  and  a 
half  inches  in  length  ;  19  perfect,  and  31  broken,  amber 
beads,  of  which  the  greater  number  were  hammer-like, 
the  rest  tubular  or  ring-shaped.  The  passage  was  filled 
up  by  earth,  mixed  with  fragments  of  pottery,  and  small 
stones.  About  the  middle  was  a  skeleton,  with  the  head 
towards  the  east,  at  the  side  of  which  were  five  flakes  and 
an  amber  bead.  Close  to  the  feet  was  ajar,  unornamented, 
and  much  ruder  than  those  found  in  the  chamber  itself. 
Not  the  smallest  fragment  of  metal  was  found  either  in 
the  chamber  or  in  the  passage. 

Again,  as  a  second  case  of  the  same  sort,  I  may  mention 
the  Long  Barrow  (fig.  166)  near  West  Kennet,  in  Wilt- 


LONG   BARROW,   WEST   KENNET       165 

shire,  described  by  Dr  Thurnam.^  The  tumulus  in  this 
case  is  336  feet  in  length,  40  feet  wide  at  the  west  end, 
and  75  feet  at  the  east,  with  a  height  of  8  feet.  The 
walls  of  the  chamber  are  formed  by  six  great  blocks  of 
stone,  and  it  opens  into  a  passage,  so  that  the  ground 


Fk;.  166. —  Interior  of  the  sepulchral  chamber  in  the  I-ong  Barrow- 
near  West  Kennet.- 

plan  very  closely  resembles  that  of  the  tumulus  just 
described,  and,  in  fact,  of  the  "Passage  graves"  generally. 
The  chamber  and  entrance  were  nearly  filled  with  chalk 
rubble,  containing  also  bones  of  animals,  flint  implements 
(figs.  167-170),  and  fragments  of  pottery.  In  the 
chamber  were   four   skeletons,  two   of   which    appear   to 

^  Archci'ologia,  vol.  xxxviii.  p.  405. 

^  Figs.  166-176  are  from  Arc/ucologia,  vol.  xxxviii. 


i66 


PREHISTORIC  TIMES 


Figs.    167,    168. — Flint   scrapers    from    Long 
Barrow,  two-thirds  of  the  actual  size. 


have  been  buried  in  a  sitting  posture.     In  different  parts 

of  the  chamber  were 
found  nearly  300 
flakes,  3  or  4  flint 
cores,  a  whetstone,  a 
scraper,  part  of  a  bone 
pin,  a  bead  of  Kim- 
meridge  shale,  and 
several  heaps  of  frag- 
ments of  pottery  (figs. 
1 71-176)  belonging 
apparently  to  no  less 
than  50  different  vessels,  and  all  made 
by  hand,  with  one  doubtful  exception. 
No  trace  of  metal  was  discovered.  The 
two  pieces  figs.  175,  176  were  found 
apart  from  the  rest,  and  may,  perhaps, 

be  of  later  origin. 
The  large 
tumuli  of  Brit- 
tany, most  of 
which  have  re- 
cently  been 
opened,  have 
afforded  several 
other  instances  of 

,  1-1  size. 

the     same    kmd. 

Thus  the  great  Mont  St  Michel,  at 
Carnac,  which  is  no  less  than  380 
feet  in  length,  and  190  feet  broad, 
with  an  average  height  of  33  feet, 
was  found  to  contain  a  square 
Fig.  170. —  Flint  implement    chamber,  in  which  were  11  beauti- 

from    the    same,    two-thirds     fy],    i^de   CeltS,  2    large   rOU^h  CeltS, 
of  the  actual  size.  j-"     ^  ,,    ^,        ,.°         ,     °,       .  , 

and  26  small  nbrolite  celts,  besides 
no  beads,  mostly  of  callais,  and  some  fragments  of  flint. ^ 

1  Rapport  a  M.  le  P7-cfet  dii  Morbihan  stir  les  foiiilles  du  Mont 
St  Michel,  par  M.  Rene  Galles,  1862.  Beads  of  callais  have  also  been 
found  in  the  south  of  France  and  in  Portugal.  Cartailhac,  Ai^es  Prehist. 
de  r Espagne  et  du  Portugal,  pp.  130-132. 


Fig.  169. — Flint  flake 
from  the  same,  two- 
thirds  of  the  actual 


BRETON   TUMULI 


167 


Fig.  171. — Fragment  of  pottery  from  the 
same,  two-thirds  of  the  actual  size. 


Again,  the  chamber  in  the  tumulus  called  Mann6-er- 
H'roek  contained  103  stone  axes,  3  flint  flakes,  and 
50  beads  of  callais,  jasper,  quartz,  and  agate,  but  neither  of 
these  great  tumuli  con- 
tained a  trace  of  metal.^ 

Other  similar  cases 
might  be  mentioned,^  in 
which  tumuli  of  largesize, 
covering  a  sepulchral 
chamber,  constructed 
with  great  labour,  and 
evidently  intended  for  a 
person  or  persons  of  high 
rank,  have  contained 
numerous  objects  of 
stone  and  pottery,  with- 
out a  trace  of  metal. 

It  appears  reasonable  to  conclude  that  these  interments 
belong  to  the  ante-metallic  period  ;  especially  when,  as  in 
the  first-mentioned  case,  we  find  several  secondary  inter- 
ments, plainly  belonging  to  a 
later  age,  and  although  pre- 
senting no  such  indications 
of  high  rank,  still  accom- 
panied by  objects  of  bronze. 
It  may  seem  at  first  sight 
very  improbable  that  works 
so  considerable  should  have 
been  undertaken  and  carried 
out  by  nations  entirely  igno- 
rant of  metal.  The  burial 
mound  of  Oberea,  in  Ota- 
heiti,  was  nevertheless  267 
feet  long,  87  feet  wide,  and  44  feet  in  height.  And  in 
treating  of  modern  savages,  I  shall  hereafter  have  occasion 
to  notice  other  instances  quite  as  extraordinary. 

'  MannS-er- H'roeck  :    Rapport  a   la   Soci^te    Polymathique^    par    M. 
Lef^bvre  et  M.  Rene  Galles,  1863. 

2  See,  for  instance,  Lukis,  Archceologia,  vol.  xxxv.  p.  247. 


Fig.  172. — Fragment  of  pottery  from 
the  same,  actual  size. 


r68 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


The  practice  of  burying  in  old  tumuli,  which  continued 
even  down  to  the  times  of  Charlemagne,^  has  led  to  some 
confusion,  because  objects  of  very  different  date  are  thus 
liable  to  be  described  as  coming  from  one  grave  ;  yet,  on 
the  other  hand,  it  is  very  instructive,  as  there  are  several 
cases  on  record,  besides  the  one  above  mentioned,  of 
interments  characterized  by  bronze  being  found  above, 
and  being,  therefore,  evidently  subsequent  to  others, 
accompanied  by  stone  only.^ 


Figs,  173,  174. —Fragments  of  pottery  from  the  same,  two-thirds  of  the  actual  size. 

On  the  whole,  however,  though  it  is  evident  that  the 
objects  most  frequently  buried  with  the  dead  would  be 
those  most  generally  used  by  the  living,  and  though  the 
prevalence  of  stone  implements  proves  the  important  part 
played  by  stone  in  ancient  times,  and  goes  far  to  justify 
the  belief  in  a  Stone  Age  ;  still,  the  evidence  to  be  brought 
forward  on  this  point  in  the  following  chapters  will, 
probably,  to  many  minds  seem  more  satisfactory  ;  and,  at 

^  One  of  his  regulations  ran  as  follows  : — "  Jubemus  ut  corpora  Chris- 
tianorum  Saxonorum  ad  cemeteria  ecclesiai  deferantur,  et  non  ad  tumulus 
paganorum." 

■^  See,  for  instance,  Von  Sacken,  Leitfaden  ziir  Kunde  des  heidnischen 
Alterthums,  p.  1 5. 


CONTENTS   OF   TUMULI 


169 


any  rate,  we  must  admit  that  in  the  present  state  of  our 
knowledge,  there  are  comparatively  few  interments  which 
we  could,  with  confidence,  refer  to  the  Neolithic  Stone 
Age,  however  firmly  we  may 
believe  that  a  great  many  of 
them  must  belong  to  it. 

Mr  Bateman^  has  proposed 
to  range  the  pottery  found  in 
ancient  British  tumuli  under 
four  different  heads,  namely  : 
(i)  Urns  ;  (2)  Incense  Cups  ; 
(3)  Food  Vases  ;  (4)  Drink- 
ing Cups.  The  urns  gener- 
ally accompany  interments  by  T._    ^,     ^  ^^f    tf^T 

■'  .         r       y  /     Pig.  175.  —  P ragment  of  pottery  from 

cremation,     and      have      either        the  same,  two-thirds  of  the  actual 

contained    or    been    inverted      ^'^^" 

over  burnt  human  bones.  They  are  generally  of  large 
size,  "from  10  to  16  inches  high,  with  a  deep  border, 
more  or  less  decorated  by  impressions  of  twisted  thongs, 

and  incised  patterns  in  which 
the  chevron  or  herring-bone 
constantly  recurs  in  various 
combinations,  occasionally  re- 
lieved by  circular  punctures, 
or  assuming  a  reticulated 
appearance.  They  are  all 
made  by  hand,  no  trace  of 
the  potter's  wheel  being  ever 
found  on  them.  They  al- 
most invariably  have  an  over- 
hanging rim.  The  material 
of  which  they  are  formed  is 
clay  mixed  with  pebbles,  and  some  of  them  have  been 
described  as  "  sun-dried."  This,  however,  appears  to 
be  altogether  a  mistake,  arising  from  the  imperfect 
manner    in    which   they    were    burnt.       In    colour,    they 

*  Ten  Years'  Diggings  in  Celtic  and  Saxon  Gravehills.  Thepotteiyof 
the  Stone  Age  has  recently  been  well  described  by  the  Hon.  J.  Abercromby 
in  a  special  work. 


Fig.  176. —Fragment  of  pottery, 
actual  size. 


lyo 


PREHISTORIC  TIMES 


are  generally  brown  or  burnt  umber  outside  and  black 
inside.     Fig.    177  represents  a   specimen   from   Flaxdale 

Barrow,  in  Derbyshire. 

Secondly,  the  "  incense 
cups,"  so  called  by  Sir  R. 
Colt  Hoare.  They  differ 
very  much  in  shape,  and  are 
seldom  more  than  3  inches 
high.  When  decorated  the 
patterns  are  the  same  as  those 
on  the  urns,  and  are  usually 
on  the  under  surface,  but  they 
are  often  left  plain.  They 
are  often  pierced.  "  Incense 
cups "  have  been  found 
throughout  Great  Britain, 
and  also  in  Ireland.  Their 
use  seems  to  me  still  very 
doubtful.  They  have  in 
with  bronze.  "  The  third 
of    every   style    of   ornament. 


Fig.  177. — Urn  from  Flaxdale  Barrow, 
The  original  is  14  inches  in  height. 


several    cases    been    found 
division    includes    vessels 

from  the  rudest  to  the  most  elaborate,  but  nearly  alike 
in    size,  and   more   difficult    to   assign    to   a   determinate 
period  than  any 
other,  from  the 
fact  of  a  coarse 
and    a    well- 
finished     one 
having     several 
times     been 
found    in   com- 
pany."     The 
woodcuts    (figs. 
178,    179)   represent  two  vessels  found  in  a  barrow  on 
the  circle  at  Arbor  Low,  in  Derbyshire. 

Fourthly,  "  The  drinking  cups  (fig.  i8o)  are  generally 
from  six  and  a  half  to  nine  inches  high,  of  a  tall  shape, 
contracted  in  the  middle,  globular  below,  and  expanding 
at  the  mouth  :  they  are  carefully  formed  by  hand,  of  fine 


Figs.  178,  179. —Vases  from  Arbor  Low,  in  Derbyshire. 


URNS,   FOOD   VASES,    DRINKING   CUPS    171 


clay,  tempered  with  sharp  sand,  and  well-baked  ;  the 
walls  are  thin,  averaging  about  three-eighth  of  an  inch, 
light  brown  outside,  and  grey  within."  They  have  not 
yet  been  found  in  Ireland.  They  are  generally  much 
ornamented,  and  usually  accompany  well-made  flint  imple- 
ments and  unburnt  bodies.  Mr  Bateman  considered  that 
the  greater  number  belong  to  the  ante-metallic  period, 
but  they  have  so  often  been 
found  in  association  with 
bronze,  that  I  think  we  may 
safely  refer  them  to  the  Bronze 
Age. 

The  Domestic  Pottery  of 
the  period  is  not  so  well  known 
to  us,  but  some  has  been  found 
in  caves,  and  on  the  site  of 
ancient  dwelling-places.  It  is 
formed  of  the  same  material  as 
that  found  in  the  tumuli,  but  is 
of  different  and  plainer  forms, 
and  generally  entirely  without 
ornament.  The  pottery  of  the 
pre-Roman  tumuli  is  very  dis- 
tinctive, and  differs  in  material, 
form,  colour,  and  mode  of  de- 
coration, both  from  that  of  the 
Roman  and  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  periods.  It  is,  I  believe 
I  may  say  invariably,  hand-made  ;  and  is  never  artificially 
coloured. 

Numerous  as  are  the  varieties  of  pottery  found  in  ante- 
Roman  tumuli,  they  appear  (so  far,  at  any  rate,  as  those 
discovered  by  Mr  Bateman  are  concerned)  to  have  been 
all  made  by  hand,  without  any  assistance  from  the  potter's 
wheel  ;  they  are  formed  of  clay  tempered  with  sand,  and 
often  containing  small  pebbles  ;  they  very  rarely  have 
handles,  and  spouts  seem  to  have  been  unknown  ;  the 
ornaments  consist  of  straight  lines,  dots,  or  marks,  as  if 
a  cord  had  been  impressed  on  the  soft  clay  ;  circular  or 
curved  lines  are  rare,  nor  is  there  the  slightest  attempt  to 


Fig.  180. — Drinking  cup  from 
Green  Low. 


172  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

copy  any  animal  or  plant.  In  some  cases  it  is  obvious 
that  woven  fabrics  have  been  impressed  on  the  clay  while 
still  soft,  and  we  thus  obtain  proof  of  the  existence  of 
prehistoric  textile  fabrics,  the  actual  specimens  of  which 
have  long  ceased  to  exist.^ 

As  a  general  rule  the  megalithic  monuments  are  con- 
structed of  rough  stones  neither  hewn  nor  ornamented. 
Lately,  however,  many  instances  of  engravings  have  been 
observed.  In  the  north  of  England  and  in  Scotland 
these  generally  take  the  form  of  cups,  spirals,  circles  with 
a  dot  in  the  middle,  or  incomplete  circles  with  a  dot  in 
the  middle,  or  incomplete  circles  with  a  line  running  from 
the  centre  through  the  interval,  as  in  fig.  i8i.^  We  have 
as  yet  no  satisfactory  clue  to  the  meaning  of  these  en- 
gravings, many  of  which  have  been  figured  by  Mr  Tate 
and  Sir  J.  Y.  Simpson.  They  occur  in  evident  association 
with  ancient  oppida  and  fortifications,  as  well  as  on 
menhirs,  and  on  the  stones  composing  dolmens  and 
cromlechs.  Fig.  1 8 1  represents  a  characteristic  group  on 
a  rock  at  Auchnabreach  in  Argyllshire.  The  surface  of 
the  rock  is  well  adapted  to  receive  such  sculpturings, 
having  been  smoothed  and  prepared  by  glacial  action. 

Similar  sculpturings  have  been  found  in  Ireland,  where 
also  the  great  tumuli  on  the  Boyne  afford  instances  of 
more  elaborate  ornamentation.  The  great  stone  at  the 
entrance  of  New  Grange,  for  instance,  is  covered  with 
double  spirals,  and  those  forming  the  central  chamber  are 
also  covered  with  circles,  spirals,  and  other  patterns,  one 
of  the  most  remarkable  being  that  of  a  so-called  fern  leaf, 
which  occurs  also  in  Brittany  and  in  the  so-called  temple 
of  Hagiar  Kem,  in  Malta.  Mr  Conwell  has  recently 
discovered  an  extensive  series  of  interesting  sepulchral 
sculptures  in  the  county  of  Meath.     With  the  exception 

^  See,  for  instance,  Holmes,  Rep.  of  U.S.  Bur.  of  Ethnology.,  1881. 

2  See  Tate  on  The  Sculptured  Rocks  of  Northumberland.,  1865  ;  Sir 
J.  Y.  Simpson  on  "Ancient  Sculpturings  of  Cups  and  Concentric  Rings, 
etc.,"  Proc.  S.  of  Antiquaries  of  Scotland.,  vol.  vi.,  1867.  The  monuments 
described  by  Mr  Stuart,  in  his  great  work  on  The  Sculptured  Stones  of 
Scotland.,  belong  to  a  much  later  period,  and  scarcely  fall  within  the  scope 
of  the  present  work.  For  rock  carvings  in  Spain,  see  Don  M.  de  Gongora 
y  Martinez,  Antigiiedades  Prehistoricas  de  Andalucia. 


ROCK   SCULPTURES 


173 


of  the  "  fern  leaf,"  all  these  archaic  sculpturings  in  Great 
Britain  are  mere  geometrical  figures.  The  same  figures 
also  occur  in  Brittany,  accompanied,  however,  by  frequent 
representations  of  stone  axes,  both  with  and  without 
handles. 

The    rock    sculptures    of    Scandinavia    present    a    still 
further  advance,  many  of  them  being  rude  representations 


Fig.  181. — Sculptures  on  the  Lower  Rock  at  Auchnabreach,  Argyllshire. 
After  Sir  J.  Y.  Simpson. 

of  boats,  much  like  those  on  some  of  the  bronze  knives 
(figs.  45-46). 

The  most  remarkable  monument  of  this  kind,  however, 
is  that  of  Kivik  in  Scania,  close  to  the  shore  of  the  Baltic. 

Cup  markings  also  occur  among  the  Kumaon  Hills  in 
Hindostan.  Mr  Rivett  Carnac  has  suggested  that  they 
are  connected  with  Lingam  worship  ;  the  central  mark 
representing  the  Lingam,  the  circle  the  Yoni.  The  rich, 
he  supposes,  put  up  a  monument,  the  poor  merely  carved 
the  symbol. 


174  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

Crooke^  mentions  that  "in  almost  every  Panjab  village 
may  be  seen  small  platforms  with  rows  of  little  hemi- 
spherical depressions,  into  which  milk  and  Ganges  water 
are  poured,  and  by  which  lamps  are  lit,  and  Brahmans 
fed  to  conciliate  the  Dead  "  ;  "  while  the  careful  mother 
will  always  dedicate  a  rupee  to  him,  and  hang  it  round  her 
child's  neck  till  he  grows  up."  Mr  Ibbetson  ^  suggests 
that  this  may  have  been  the  origin  of  the  mysterious 
so-called  "cup-marks."  Montelius  informs  us^  that  in 
out-of-the-way  parts  of  Sweden  offerings  to  the  Spirit 
are  made  in  these  cup-markings,  even  at  the  present  day. 

The  remains  of  other  mammals  found  with  ancient 
human  relics  have  acquired  increased  interest,  since  the 
admirable  researches  of  the  Danish  and  Swiss  zoologico- 
archaeologists,  and  especially  of  Steenstrup  and  Rotimeyer, 
by  whose  skilful  cross-examination  much  valuable  and 
unexpected  evidence  has  been  elicited  from  materials 
of  most  unpromising  appearance.  Unfortunately  the 
non-human  remains  found  in  tumuli  are  usually  in  a  very 
fragmentary  condition.  No  remains  of  any  extinct 
animal  have  as  yet  been  found  in  the  tumuli  of  Western 
Europe,  Even  the  reindeer  is  altogether  absent.  The 
deer  and  ox  are  most  frequent.  The  latter  was  certainly 
domesticated  in  Switzerland  as  early  as  the  Neolithic 
period.  Whether  this  was  the  case  in  Northern  Europe, 
though  probable,  is  still  uncertain.  Some  archaeologists 
believe  the  dog  to  have  been  at  that  period  the  only 
animal  domesticated  ;  others,  on  the  contrary,  consider  the 
cow,  sheep,  pig,  and  goat,  if  not  the  horse,  to  have  been 
at  that  early  period  domesticated  in  the  North.  In  the 
contents  of  British  barrows,  bones  of  these  animals  have 
been  frequently  observed  ;  and  it  would  appear  from  the 
researches  of  Canon  Greenwell  that  most  of  them  belonged 
to  domesticated  animals.* 

Remains  of  the  horse  are  very  rare  in  English  barrows, 

'  An  Introduction  to  the  Popular  Relii^on  and  Folk-lore  of  Northern 
India,  by  W.  Crooke,  B.A.  (1894). 
2  Ibbetson,  Rep.  on  the  Karnal  Dis.,  ch.  ix. 
^  The  Civilization  of  Sweden  in  Heathen  Times,  p.  36. 
^  Greenwell,  British  Barrows. 


BONES   IN   TUMULI  175 

and  I  know  no  well-authenticated  case  of  their  occurrence 
in    a   long    barrow.     I    have  thought,  therefore,  that    it 
might  be  of  interest  to  point  out  the  class  of  graves  in 
which    bones    or    teeth   of  horses  were   found.     In    Mr 
Bateman's    valuable    works    there    are,    altogether,    28 
cases  ;  but  of  these,  9  were  in  tumuli  which  had  been 
previously  opened,  and  in  one  case  no  body  was  found. 
Of   the  remaining    18,   5    were    tumuli  containing   iron, 
and    7    were   accompanied   with   bronze.     In    one   more 
case,  that    of    the  "  LifFs,"   it    is    doubtful    whether    the 
barrow   had    not    been    disturbed.     Of    the  remaining  6 
tumuli,  2  contained  beautiful  drinking  vessels,  of  a  very 
well-marked    type,  certainly   in    use   during   the   Bronze 
Age,  if  not  peculiar  to  it  ;  and  in  both  these  instances,  as 
well  as  in  a  third,  the   interment    was    accompanied    by 
burnt  human  bones,  suggestive  of  dreadful  rites.     Even, 
however,  if  these  cases  cannot  be  referred  to  the  Bronze 
Age,  we  still  see  that  out  of    the   297  interments  only 
63  contained  metal,  or  about  21  per  cent.  ;  while  out  of 
the  18  cases  of  horses'  remains,  12,  or  about  66  per  cent., 
certainly  belong  to  the  metallic  period.     Canon  Green- 
well  also  found  the  bones  of  the  horse  only  in  3  or  4 
interments,  all  apparently  of    the    Bronze  Age  or  later. 
This  seems  to   be  prima  facie   evidence    that    the    horse 
was   very  rare,  if   not  altogether   unknown,  in  England 
during  the  Stone  Age.     Both  the  horse  and  bull  appear 
to  have  been  sacrified  at  graves  during  later  times,  and 
probably  formed  part  of  the  funeral  feast.     The  teeth  of 
oxen  are  so  common  in  tumuli,  that  they  are  even  said 
by  Mr  Bateman  to  be  "  uniformly  found  with  the  more 
ancient  interments." 

The  very  frequent  presence  of  the  bones  of  quadrupeds 
in  tumuli  appears  to  show  that  sepulchral  feasts  were 
generally  held  in  honour  of  the  dead,  and  the  numerous 
cases  in  which  interments  were  accompanied  by  burnt 
human  bones  tend  to  prove  the  prevalence  of  still  more 
dreadful  customs,  and  that   not  only  horses^  and  dogs, 

^  Even  so  lately  as  in  1871,  Frederick  Casimir  was  laid  in  his  grave  with 
his  slaughtered  horse.     Horcc  ferales,  p.  66. 


176  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

but  slaves  also,  were  frequently  sacrificed  at  their  masters' 
graves  ;  it  is  not  improbable  that  wives  often  were  burnt 
with  their  husbands,  as  in  India,  and  among  many  savage 
tribes.  For  instance,  among  the  Fijis  it  is  usual  on  the 
death  of  a  chief  to  sacrifice  a  certain  number  of  slaves, 
whose  bodies  "  are  called  '  grass  '  for  bedding  "  the  grave.^ 
"  It  is  probable,"  says  Mr  Bateman,  "  that  the  critical 
examination  of  all  deposits  of  burnt  bones  would  lead  to 
much  curious  information  respecting  the  statistics  of 
suttee  and  infanticide,  both  which  abominations  we  are 
unwillingly  compelled,  by  accumulated  evidence,  to 
believe  were  practised  in  pagan  Britain." 

But  it  was  not  only  human  beings  and  animals  who 
were  sacrificed  at  the  grave  in  order  that  their  ghosts 
might  accompany  their  masters  to  the  land  of  spirits. 
The  implements  and  weapons  found  in  graves  have  in 
many  cases  been  intentionally  broken,  and  I  have  else- 
where suggested  that  this  was  done  in  order  to  kill  them. 
Herodotus  in  an  interesting  passage  ^  tells  us  that  Melissa, 
wife  of  Periander,  complained  of  cold  in  the  other  world, 
as  she  was  naked,  having  no  clothes,  because  none  had 
been  burnt  at  her  burial. 

From  the  numerous  cases  in  which  the  bones  of  an 
infant  and  a  woman  have  been  found  together  in  one 
grave,  it  would  seem  that  if  any  woman  died  in  child- 
birth, or  while  nursing,  the  baby  was  buried  alive  with 
her,  as  is  still  the  practice  among  some  Esquimaux 
families.  It  is,  however,  an  interesting  fact,  and  throws 
some  light  on  the  social  relations  of  the  times,  that  there 
are  several  cases  in  which  a  barrow  even  of  considerable 
size  has  been  erected  over  the  remains  of  an  infant — the 
favourite  child,  we  may  suppose,  of  some  powerful  chief. 

No  traces  of  Corn  have  yet  been  met  with  in  any  of 
our  Neolithic  barrows. 

These  conclusions,  however,  cannot  be  extended  to 
Europe.     In    Switzerland,    for    instance,    as    far    as    our 

1  Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Feegees^  by  T.  Williams,  i860,  vol.  i. 
p.  189. 
^  Terpsichofe,  v.  92. 


PREHISTORIC   RACES   OF   MEN         177 

present  evidence  goes,  though  it  is  far  from  being  so  full 
as  that  derived  from  English  sources,  the  introduction  of 
bronze  does  not  appear  to  have  been  accompanied  by  any 
change  of  race.  In  Scandinavia,  again,  we  have  two 
classes  of  barrows  corresponding  to  those  of  this  country. 
But  though  the  Scandinavian  long  barrows  so  remarkably 
resemble  those  of  England,  they  were  erected  by  a  very 
different  race  ;  that  of  the  English  long  barrows  being 
long-headed,  while  the  constructors  of  the  Scandinavian 
chambered  barrows  were,  on  the  contrary,  almost  always 
round-headed.  It  is  curious  that  in  certain  barrows  no 
trace  of  a  burial  has  been  found.  Some  archaeologists 
suppose  that  in  these  cases  the  body  was  buried  without 
any  vase,  ornament,  or  implement,  and  that  it  has  wholly 
disappeared.  I  should,  however,  rather  be  disposed  to 
regard  them  as  memorial  barrows.  The  common  people 
were  interred  without  barrows. 

On  the  whole,  then,  the  tumuli  of  Northern  Europe 
appear  to  range  in  point  of  time  from  the  Neolithic  down 
to  post-Roman  times.  Since,  however,  they  never 
contain  remains  of  the  extinct  mammalia,  nor  even  of  the 
reindeer,  and  as  no  implements  of  the  Palaeolithic  type 
have  ever  been  discovered  in  them,  we  cannot  refer  any 
of  them  to  the  earlier  Stone  Age.  So  far  as  England  is 
concerned,  the  ante-Roman  barrows  appear  to  fall  into 
two  great  groups — the  long  barrows  and  the  round 
barrows.  The  long  barrows  are  apparently  the  earlier 
and  belong  exclusively  to  the  Stone  Age,  as  they  also  do 
in  Scandinavia.  They  contain  no  metal,  little  pottery, 
and  were  constructed  by  a  long-headed  race.  Professor 
Rolleston  has  called  attention  to  the  remarkable  character 
afforded  by  the  lower  jaw  ;  the  tumid  horizontal  segment 
corresponding  to  its  molar  teeth,  the  wide  ramus,  short 
coronoid  process,  feeble  chin,  and  rounded,  often  inwardly 
bent,  angle.  It  is  true  that  similar  lower  jaws  occur 
among  the  Bushmen,  Tasmanians,  Melanesians,  and  other 
low  races,  but  Professor  Rolleston  affirms  ^  that  amongst 
Esquimaux  only  do  we  find  such  jaws  combined  with  the 

^  Greenwell  and  Rolleston,  British  Barrows,  p.  718. 

12 


1 78  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

widely  open  orbit  and  vertically  elongated  nasal  cavity  so 
characteristic  of  the  long  barrow  race. 

The  round  barrows  belong  in  many  cases  to  the  Bronze 
Age.  The  presence  of  metal,  the  forms  of  some  of  the 
stone  implements,  as,  for  instance,  the  tanged  arrow-heads 
and  the  pierced  stone  axes,  as  well  as  the  character  of  the 
pottery,  justify  the  conclusion  that  they  belong  to  a  later 
period  than  the  long  barrows — one,  moreover,  at  which 
Britain  was  occupied  by  a  round-headed  race,  among 
whom  lived,  however,  probably  in  a  subordinate  position, 
representatives  of  the  earlier  long-headed  people. 

I  would  particularly  urge  on  those  who  may  in  future 
open  barrows — 

(i)  To  record  the  sex  of  the  person  buried;  this  is 
more  satisfactorily  to  be  determined  from  the  form  of  the 
pelvis  than  from  the  skull.  In  this  manner  we  may  hope 
to  determine  the  relative  position,  and  the  separate  occupa- 
tion (if  any)  of  the  two  sexes. 

(2)  To  observe  the  state  of  the  teeth,  from  which  we 
may  derive  information  as  to  the  nature  of  the  food. 

(3)  To  preserve  carefully  any  bones  of  quadrupeds  that 
may  be  present,  in  order  to  ascertain  the  species,  and,  in 
the  case  of  the  ox  and  hog,  to  determine,  if  possible, 
whether  they  belong  to  wild  or  domesticated  individuals. 

We  may  fairly  hope  that  when  thoroughly  questioned 
the  barrows  will  not  only  answer  many  of  these  interesting 
questions,  but  that  they  will  also  tell  us  many  things 
which  it  would  never  occur  to  us  to  ask.  It  is  evident, 
at  least,  that  when  a  sufficient  number  shall  have  been 
examined,  we  shall,  know  much  more  than  we  do  yet 
about  the  social  and  domestic  life  of  those  early  ages  ;  we 
shall  know  whether  during  the  Stone  Age  they  had 
domestic  animals  in  the  North,  as  would  appear  to  have 
been  the  case  in  Switzerland  ;  we  shall  know  in  part  what 
kind  of  clothes  they  wore,  and  by  the  remains  found 
with  female  skeletons  we  shall  even  be  able  to  ascertain, 
in  some  measure,  the  position  occupied  by  woman  with 
reference  to  man. 

If,  however,  we  are  to  acquire  all  the  information  that 


PRESERVATION   OF   MONUMENTS      179 

can  be  derived  from  the  burial  mounds,  it  must  be  done 
quickly.  Every  year  many  are  destroyed,  and  Avebury 
itself,  the  grandest  of  megalithic  monuments,  was  sacrificed 
for  a  paltry  profit  of  a  few  pounds. 

Moreover,  as  population  increases,  and  land  grows 
more  valuable,  these  ancient  monuments  become  more 
and  more  liable  to  mutilation  and  destruction.  Since  the 
first  edition  of  this  work  was  published,  an  Act  of 
Parliament  has  been  passed  for  their  protection,  and  an 
inspector  has  been  appointed.  This  is  so  far  satisfactory. 
Unfortunately,  however,  the  powers  given  under  the  Act 
are  far  from  sufficient.^  I  have  suggested  that  we  might 
justly  insist  on  the  preservation  of  these  national  monu- 
ments, and  that  if  their  owners  do  not  care  to  preserve 
them,  the  nation  should  have  the  option  of  purchase  at  a 
fair  price.  It  is  surely  not  only  our  right,  but  our  duty, 
to  protect  them.  These  monuments  are  national  heir- 
looms ;  they  do  not  belong  to  any  one  generation.  They 
were  erected  by  our  forefathers,  and  we  are  bound  to 
preserve  them  for  those  who  will  come  after  us. 

'  These  have  been  strengthened  by  subsequent  legislation. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE    ANCIENT    LAKE-HABITATIONS    OF    SWITZERLAND 

[n  consequence  of  the  extraordinary  dryness  and  cold  of 
the  weather  during  the  winter  months  of  1853,  the  rivers 
of  Switzerland  did  not  receive  their  usual  supplies,  and 
the  water  in  the  lakes  fell  much  below  its  ordinary  level, 
so  that,  in  some  places,  a  broad  strand  was  left  uncovered 
along  the  margin,  while  in  others  shallow  banks  were 
converted  into  islands.  The  water  level  of  this  season 
was,  indeed,  the  lowest  upon  record.  The  lowest  level 
marked  on  the  so-called  stone  of  Stafa  was  that  of  1674  ; 
but  in  1854  the  water  sank  a  foot  lower  still. 

In  a  small  bay  between  Ober  Meilen  and  DoUikon,  on 
the  Lake  of  Zurich,  the  inhabitants  had  taken  advantage 
of  the  lowness  of  the  water  to  increase  their  gardens,  by 
building  a  wall  along  the  new  water-line,  and  slightly 
raising  the  level  of  the  piece  thus  reclaimed  by  mud 
dredged  from  the  lake.  In  the  course  of  this  dredging 
they  found  great  numbers  of  piles,  of  deer-horns,  and  also 
some  implements.  M.  Aeppli  was  the  first  to  observe 
these  specimens  of  human  workmanship,  which  he  justly 
supposed  might  throw  some  light  on  the  history  and 
condition  of  the  early  inhabitants  of  the  Swiss  valleys. 
He  at  once,  therefore,  called  the  attention  of  Dr  Keller 
to  them,  and  that  eminent  antiquary  soon  satisfied  himself 
as  to  their  true  nature,  and  proved  that  the  early  inhabi- 
tants of  Switzerland  constructed  some,  at  least,  of  their 
dwellings  above  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  that  they 
must  have  lived  in  a  manner  very  similar  to  that  of  the 
Paeonians,  thus  described  by  Herodotus^: — 

^  Terpsichore,  v.  14. 
180 


LAKE-DWELLINGS  1 8 1 

"Their  dwellings,"  he  says,  "are  contrived  after  this 
manner  :  planks  fitted  on  lofty  piles  are  placed  in  the 
middle  of  the  lake,  with  a  narrow  entrance  from  the 
mainland  by  a  single  bridge.  These  piles  that  support 
the  planks  all  the  citizens  anciently  placed  there  at  the 
public  charge  ;  but  afterwards  they  established  a  law  to 
the  following  effect  :  whenever  a  man  marries,  for  each 
wife  he  sinks  three  piles,  bringing  wood  from  a  mountain 
called  Orbelus  ;  but  every  man  has  several  wives.  They 
live  in  the  following  manner  :  every  man  has  a  hut  on 
the  planks,  in  which  he  dwells,  with  a  trap-door  closely 
fitted  in  the  planks,  and  leading  down  to  the  lake.  They 
tie  the  young  children  with  a  cord  round  the  foot,  fearing 
lest  they  should  fall  into  the  lake  beneath.  To  their 
horses  and  beasts  of  burden  they  give  fish  for  fodder  ;  of 
which  there  is  such  an  abundance  that  when  a  man  has 
opened  his  trap-door,  he  lets  down  an  empty  basket  by 
a  cord  into  the  lake,  and,  after  waiting  a  short  time, 
draws  it  up  full  of  fish." 

At  the  Newcastle  meeting  of  the  British  Association  in 
1863,  Lord  Lovaine  described  a  lake-dwelling  observed 
by  him  in  the  south  of  Scotland  ;  and  in  the  Natural 
History  Review  for  July  1863,  I  had  already  mentioned 
one  in  the  North,  which,  however,  had  not  at  that  time 
been  thoroughly  examined.  Sir  Charles  Bunbury  has 
recorded  (^Quarterly  Journal  of  the  Geological  Society ^  vol. 
xii.,  1856)  some  similar  remains  found  near  Thetford, 
which  have  been  described  at  greater  length  by  Mr  Alfred 
Newton  in  an  interesting  paper  "  On  the  Zoology  of 
Ancient  Europe."  ^  A  lake-village  has  been  discovered 
near  Glastonbury,  and  is  being  carefully  excavated  by 
Dr  Bulleid.  In  his  fifth  memoir  on  the  Pfahlbauten,- 
Dr  Keller  has  described  a  lake-dwelling  at  Peschiera,  on  the 
L.  di  Garda  ;  and  we  are  indebted  to   MM.  B.  Gastaldi,^ 

*  See  also  Munro,  Ancient  Scottish  Lake  Dwellini^s  ;  and  The  Lake 
Dwcllini^s  of  Europe. 

^  Mittlicilutii^cn  der  antiqi/arisc/tcn  (lescllschafi  in  Zitfic/i,  1863. 

^  Niiovi  Cenni  sii<!^li  o<^''i;effi  di  alia  AnticJiita  irovati  iicltc  'rorl)icre  e 
nctle  Marniere  delf  Italia.  Sec  also  Stoppani,  "  I'rinia  ricerca  di  Abita- 
zioni  lacustri  nei  Laghi  di  Lomljardia,"  Atti  delta  Soc.  Italiani  di  Scicnze 
Naturali.,  1863,  vol.  v.  p.  154. 


I82 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


P.  Strobel,  and  L.  Pigorini,  for  a  description  of  ruins 
of  a  similar  nature  which  have  been  found  in  Northern 
Italy.  Dr  Lisch  has  described  several  pile-dwellings 
in  Mecklenburg,  and  M.  Boucher  de  Perthes,  in  his 
celebrated  work,  Antiquites  Celtiques  et  Antediluviennes^ 
mentions  certain  remains  found  in  the  peat  near  Abbe- 
ville, which  appear  to  have  been  the  ruins  of  lake- 
dwellings  ;  an  observation  which  is  of  special  interest, 
as  an  additional  argument  for  referring  the  Swiss  lake- 


FiG.  182. — Modern  lake-dwellings  in  the  Celebes.     After  Sarasin. 

dwellings  to  the  period  of  the  peat  in  the  Somme 
valley,  and  therefore  to  an  epoch  long  subsequent  to  that 
of  the  drift  hatchets.  This  inference  is  entirely  in  accord- 
ance with  the  conclusions  derived  from  the  study  of  the 
stone  implements  themselves. 

But  it  is  not  necessary  to  go  back  to  prehistoric  times  ; 
nor  need  we  appeal  to  doubtful  history  or  ancient  remains 
for  evidence  of  the  curious  habit  of  water-dwelling. 
Many  savage  or  semi-savage  tribes  live  in  the  same 
manner,  even  at  the  present  day.  I  have  been  informed 
by  a  friend  who  lives  at  Salonica  that  the  fishermen  of 
Lake  Prasias  still  inhabit  wooden  cottages  built  over  the 


MODERN   LAKE-DWELLINGS  183 

water,  as  in  the  time  of  Herodotus.  The  city  of 
Tcherkask  also  is  partly  built  over  the  Don.  Some  of 
the  Garos  and  Bogshas  of  Upper  India,  the  Kanikars  of 
Southern  India,  the  pastoral  tribes  in  parts  of  Sinde, 
dwell  in  habitations  elevated  8  or  10  feet  from  the 
ground,  to  avoid  the  damp  and  the  insects  occasioned  by 
it.^  Similar  dwellings  are  extensively  used  in  the  northern 
parts  of  South  America  ;  Venezuela,  indeed,  having  been 
so  called  because  the  houses  resemble  those  of  Venice 
in  being  constructed  over  water.  But  it  is  in  the  East 
Indies  that  this  habit  prevails  most  extensively.  The 
city  of  Borneo  is  altogether  built  upon  piles,  and  similar 
constructions  have  been  described  by  various  travellers 
in  New  Guinea,  Celebes,  Solo,  Ceram,  Mindanao,  the 
Caroline  Islands,  on  the  Gold  Coast,  and  elsewhere. 
Dampier  long  ago  mentioned  similar  dwellings  constructed 
over  the  water  ;  and  Dumont  d'Urville,^  quoted  by 
M.  Troyon,  tells  us  that  "  Jadis  toute  la  ville  de  Tondano 
etait  construite  sur  le  lac,  et  Ton  ne  communiquait  d'une 
maison  a  une  autre  qu'en  bateau."  The  Bishop  of 
Labuan  thus  describes  the  dwellings  of  the  Dyaks  : 
"  They  are  built  along  the  river-side,  on  an  elevated 
platform  20  or  30  feet  high,  in  a  long  row  ;  or  rather  it 
is  a  whole  village  in  one  row  of  some  hundreds  of  feet 
long.  The  platforms  are  first  framed  with  beams,  and 
then  crossed  with  laths  about  2  inches  wide  and  2  inches 
apart,  and  in  this  way  are  well  ventilated  ;  and  nothing 
remains  on  the  floors,  but  all  the  refuse  falls  through  and 
goes  below."  ^ 

In  Ireland  a  number  of  more  or  less  artificial  islands 
called  "  Crannoges  "  *  (fig.  183)  are  known  historically  to 
have  been  used  as  strongholds  by  the  petty  chiefs.  They 
are  composed  of  earth  and  stones,  strengthened  by  piles, 
and  have  supplied  the  Irish  archaeologists  with  numerous 
weapons,  implements,   and   bones.      From    the   crannoge 

'   Burnes'  Tra7>cls  into  BokharUy  vol.  iii.  p.  90. 

^   Voyage  de  '''■  P Astrolabe,"  vol.  v.  p.  635. 

^   Trans,  of  the  Ethnol.  Sac,  New  Series,  vol.  ii.  p.  28. 

■•  See  Wilde's  Catalogue,  vol.  i.  p.  220. 


184 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


hundred  and 
and  used  as 
however, 
those  of 
in  early- 
Thomas 


at  Dunshaughlin,  indeed,  more  than  one 
fifty  cart-loads  of  bones  were  obtained 
manure  !  These  lake-dwellings  of  Ireland, 
are  referable  to  a  much  later  period  than 
Switzerland,  and  are  frequently  mentioned 
history.  Thus,  according  to  Shirley,  "  One 
Phettiplace,  in  his  answer  to  an  inquiry  from  the  Govern- 
ment, as  to  what  castles  or  forts  O'Neill  hath,  and  of 
what  strength  they  be,  states  (May  15,  1567):  'For 
castles,  I  think  it  be  not  unknown  to  your  honours,  he 
trusteth  no  point  thereunto  for  his  safety,  as  appeareth 
by  the  raising  of  the  strongest  castles  of  all  his  countreys. 


Fig.  183. — Crannoge  in  Ardakillin  Lough,  near  Stokestown,  county  of  Ros- 
common. It  is  constructed  of  stones  and  oak  piling.  The  top  line  shows 
the  former  highest  water  level ;  the  second,  that  of  the  ordinary  winter  flood  ; 
the  third,  the  summer  level. 

and  that  fortification  which  he  only  dependeth  upon  is 
in  sartin  freshwater  loghos  in  his  country,  which  from  the 
sea  there  come  neither  ship  nor  boat  to  approach  them  : 
it  is  thought  that  there  in  the  said  fortified  islands  lyeth 
all  his  plate,  which  is  much,  and  money,  prisoners,  and 
gages  :  which  islands  hath  in  wars  to  fore  been  attempted, 
and  now  of  late  again  by  the  Lord  Deputy  there.  Sir 
Harry  Sydney,  which  for  want  of  means  for  safe  conducts 
upon  the  water  it  hath  not  prevailed.'  " 

Again,  the  map  of  the  escheated  territories,  made  for 
the  Government,  a.d.  1591,  by  Francis  Jobson,  or  the 
Piatt  of  the  County  of  Monaghan^  contains  rough  sketches 
of  the  dwellings  of  the  petty  chiefs  of  Monaghan, 
which  "  are  in  all  cases  surrounded  by  water."  In 
the  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters^  and  other  records  of 
early  Irish  history,  we  meet  with  numerous  instances  in 


LAKE-VILLAGES  185 

which  the  crannoges  are  mentioned,  in  some  of  which 
their  position  has  not  preserved  them  from  robbery  and 
destruction  ;  and  we  need  not,  therefore,  be  surprised  to 
find  that  many  of  the  Swiss  Pfahlbauten  appear  to  have 
been  destroyed  by  fire. 

Not  only  in  the  Lake  of  Zurich,  but  also  in  Lakes  of 
Constance,  Geneva,  Neufchatel,  Bienne,  Morat,  Sempach, 
in  fact  in  most  of  the  large  Swiss  lakes,  as  well  as  in  several 
of  the  smaller  ones  (Inkwyl,  Pfeffikon,  Moosseedorf, 
Luissel,  etc.),  similar  lake -habitations  have  been  dis- 
covered. In  the  larger  lakes,  indeed,  not  one,  but  many 
of  these  settlements  existed  ;  thus,  there  are  already  on 
record,  in  Lake  Bienne,  twenty  ;  in  the  Lake  of  Geneva, 
twenty-four  ;  in  the  Lake  of  Constance,  thirty-two  ;  in 
the  Lake  of  Neufchatel,  as  many  as  forty-nine  ;  on  the 
whole  more  than  two  hundred  ;  and  many  others,  doubt- 
less, remain  to  be  discovered.  Of  those  already  known, 
some  belong  to  the  Iron  Age,  some  few  even  to  Roman 
times  ;  but  the  greater  number  appear  to  be  divided  in 
almost  equal  proportions  between  the  Age  of  Stone  and 
that  of  Bronze. 

Though  the  architecture  of  this  period  was  probably 
simple,  still  the  weight  to  be  sustained  on  the  wooden 
platforms  must  have  been  considerable  ;  many  of  the 
piles  are  either  bent  or  broken  ;  and  to  prevent  their 
sinking  too  deeply  into  the  soft  mud,  they  were  some- 
times driven  through  boards  which  rested  on  the  bottom. 

The  dwellings  of  the  Gauls  are  described  as  having 
been  circular  huts,  built  of  wood  and  lined  with  mud. 
The  interstices  appear  to  have  been  filled  with  moss  or 
clay.  Some  of  the  huts  on  the  pile-works  were  probably 
of  a  similar  nature.  This  is  not  a  mere  hypothesis,  but 
many  fragments  of  the  clay  used  for  the  lining  have  been 
discovered.  Their  preservation  is  evidently  due  to  the 
building  having  been  destroyed  by  fire,  which  has  hardened 
the  clay,  and  enabled  it  to  resist  the  action  of  the  water. 
These  fragments  bear,  on  one  side,  the  marks  of  inter- 
laced branches,  while  on  the  other,  which  apparently 
formed  the  inner  wall  of  the  cabin,  they  are  quite  smooth. 


1 86  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

The  huts,  Hke  those  in  the  British  lake-village  of 
Glastonbury,  were  circular,  and  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet 
in  diameter.  It  would  be  most  interesting  if  we  could 
construct  a  retrospective  census  for  these  early  periods, 
and  M.  Troyon  has  made  an  attempt  to  do  so.  The 
settlement  at  Morges,  which  is  one  of  the  largest  in  the 
Lake  of  Geneva,  is  1 200  feet  long  and  1 50  broad,  giving 
a  surface  of  1 80,000  square  feet.  Allowing  the  huts  to 
have  been  fifteen  feet  in  diameter,  and  supposing  that 
they  occupied  half  the  surface,  leaving  the  rest  for  gang- 
ways, he  estimates  the  number  of  cabins  at  311;  and 
supposing  again  that,  on  an  average,  each  was  inhabited 
by  four  persons,  he  obtains  for  the  whole  a  population  of 
1244.  Starting  from  the  same  data,  he  assumes  for  the 
Lake  of  Neufchatel  a  population  of  about  5000.  Sixty- 
eight  villages  belonging  to  the  Bronze  Age  are  supposed 
to  have  contained  42,500  persons  ;  while  for  the  pre- 
ceding epoch,  by  the  same  process  of  reasoning,  he 
estimates  the  population  at  31,875. 

I  am  not,  however,  inclined  to  attribute  much  value  to 
the  estimates  of  population  based  on  the  extent  of  the 
platforms.  M.  Troyon  himself  admits  that  his  "  chiffres 
sont  peut-etre  un  peu  eleves,  en  egard  aux  habitations 
sur  terre  ferme,  dont  il  ne  peut  ^tre  question  dans  ce 
calcul,  et  vu  qu'on  est  encore  bien  loin  de  connaitre  tous 
les  points  des  lacs  qui  ont  ete  occupes,"  and  indeed,  in 
Switzerland,  since  his  book  was  written,  the  number  of 
lake-villages  discovered  has  already  been  more  than 
doubled.  Moreover,  M.  Troyon  assumes  that  the  lake- 
villages  of  the  Bronze  Age  were  contemporaneous,  and 
that  the  same  was  the  case  with  those  belonging  to  the 
Stone  Age.  This  also  I  should  be  disposed  to  question  ; 
both  these  periods,  but  especially  the  Stone  Age,  in  all 
probability  extended  over  a  long  series  of  years  ;  and 
though  in  these  matters  it  is  of  course  necessary  to  speak 
with  much  caution,  still  if  we  are  to  make  any  assumption 
in  the  case,  it  would  seem  safer  to  suppose  that  in  each 
period  some  of  the  villages  had  perished  or  been  forsaken 
before  others  were  built. 


CONSTRUCTION   OF  THE   PLATFORMS     187 

We  might  feel  surprised  that  a  people  so  uncivilized 
should  have  constructed  their  houses  with  immense 
labour  on  the  water,  when  it  would  seem  so  much  more 
easy  to  have  built  them  on  dry  land.  But  we  have 
already  seen  how,  even  in  historical  times,  such  dwellings 
have  served  as  simple  and  yet  valuable  fortifications. 
Still,  though  it  is  evident  that  the  security  thus  given 
would  amply  compensate  for  much  extra  labour,  it 
remains  difficult  to  understand  in  what  manner  the  piles 
were  driven  into  the  ground. 

In  many  cases,  indeed,  settlements  of  the  Stone  Age 
are  characterized  by  what  are  called  "  Steinbergs,"  that  is 
to  say,  artificial  heaps  of  stones,  etc.,  evidently  brought  by 
the  natives  to  serve  as  a  support  to  the  piles.  A  boat 
laden  with  stones,  apparently  for  this  purpose,  was  some 
years  ago  discovered  in  the  Lake  of  Neufchatel.  In  fact, 
it  was  in  some  places  easier  to  raise  the  bottom  round  the 
piles  than  to  drive  the  piles  into  the  bottom.  On  the 
other  hand,  some  of  these  constructions,  as,  for  instance, 
those  at  Inkwyl  and  Wauwyl,  described  respectively  by 
M.  Morlot  and  Col.  Suter,  more  closely  resemble  the 
Irish  crannoge.  We  see,  therefore,  that,  as  Dr  Keller 
says,  the  lake-dwellers  followed  two  different  systems  in 
the  construction  of  their  dwellings,  which  he  distinguishes 
as  "  Pfahlbauten,"  or  pile-buildings,  and  "  Packwerk- 
bauten,"  or  crannoges  :  in  the  first  of  which  the  platforms 
were  simply  supported  on  piles  ;  in  the  second  of  which 
the  support  consisted  not  of  piles  only,  but  of  a  solid  mass 
of  mud,  stones,  etc.,  with  layers  of  horizontal  and  per- 
pendicular stakes,  the  latter  serving  less  as  a  support 
than  to  bind  the  mass  firmly  together.  It  is  evident  that 
the  "  Packwerkbau  "  is  a  simpler  and  ruder  affair  than 
the  "  Pfahlbau,"  in  which  no  small  skill  must  have  been 
required  to  connect  the  perpendicular  and  horizontal  piles 
firmly  together.  Still  the  "  Packwerkbauten  "  were  not 
suitable  for  the  larger  lakes,  as  during  storms  they  would 
have  been  injured  by  the  waves,  which  passed  harmlessly 
through  the  open  work  of  the  "  Pfahlbauten."  We  find, 
therefore,  that  while  the  former  method  of  construction 


i88  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

prevailed  only  in  small  lakes  or  morasses,  the  latter  was 
adopted  in  the  larger  lakes,  and  even  sometimes,  possibly, 
on  dry  land ;  a  custom  which,  however  singular,  exists  at 
the  present  day,  as,  for  instance,  in  the  island  of  Borneo, 
and  even  in  Switzerland  itself. 

The  antiquities  found  in  the  small  Swiss  lakes  and 
peat-bogs  are  more  or  less  covered  by  a  thick  layer  of 
peat,  which  perhaps  at  some  future  date  will  give  us  a 
clue  to  their  age.  On  the  contrary,  in  the  large  lakes  no 
peat  grows.  At  the  entrance  of  the  rivers,  indeed,  much 
mud  and  gravel  is  of  course  accumulated  ;  the  Lake  of 
Geneva,  for  instance,  once  no  doubt  extended  for  a 
considerable  distance  up  the  valley  of  the  Rhone.  But 
the  gravel  and  mud  brought  down  by  that  river  are 
deposited,  as  everyone  knows,  near  its  entrance  into  the 
lake,  and  the  water  of  the  lake  is  elsewhere  beautifully 
clear  and  pure. 

The  lake  itself  is  very  deep,  in  parts  as  much  as  nine 
hundred  and  eighty  feet  ;  and  the  banks  are  somewhat 
steep,  but  round  the  margin  there  is,  in  most  places,  a 
fringe  of  shallow  water,  due,  probably,  to  the  erosive 
action  of  the  waves,  and  known  to  the  fishermen  as  the 
"  blancfond,"  because  the  lake  is  there  of  a  pale  greyish 
hue,  when  contrasted  with  the  bright  blue  of  the  central 
deeper  water.  It  is  on  this  "  blancfond,"  and  at  a  depth 
of  sometimes  as  much  as  fifteen  feet,  that  the  Pfahlbauten 
were  generally  constructed.  On  calm  days,  when  the 
surface  of  the  water  is  unruffled,  the  piles  are  plainly 
visible.  Few  of  them  now  project  more  than  two  feet 
from  the  bottom  ;  eaten  away  by  the  incessant  action  of 
the  water,  some  of  them  "  n'apparaissent  plus  que  comme 
aiguilles,"  which  finally  also  disappear,  and  leave  only  a 
black  disk  at  the  surface  of  the  mud.  This,  however, 
is  the  case  principally  in  the  lake-villages  of  the  Stone 
Age. 

The  more  complete  destruction  of  the  piles  belonging 
to  the  earlier  period  depends  not  only  on  their  greater 
age,  but  on  their  occurrence  in  shallower  water.  The 
action  of  the  waves  being  greatest  near  the  surface,  and 


LAKE-DWELLINGS,  DIFFERENT  PERIODS    189 

diminishing  gradually  downwards,  not  only  are  those  piles 
which  occupy  the  deeper  parts  least  liable  to  destruction, 
but  in  each  the  erosion  takes  place  gradually  from  above, 
so  that  the  upper  end  of  the  piles  is  often  more  regularly 
pointed  even  than  the  lower.  Lying  among  them  are 
fragments  of  bone,  horn,  pottery,  and  sometimes  objects 
of  bronze.  Most  of  these  are  embedded  in  the  mud,  or 
hidden  under  the  stones,  but  others  lie  on  the  bottom  yet 
uninjured  ;  so  that  when,  for  the  first  time,  I  saw  them 
through  the  transparent  water,  a  momentary  feeling  of 
doubt  as  to  their  age  rose  in  my  mind.  So  fresh  are  they 
and  at  first  sight  so  unaltered,  they  look  as  if  they  were 
only  things  of  yesterday,  and  it  seems  hard  to  believe  that 
they  can  have  remained  there  for  centuries.  The  explana- 
tion of  the  difficulty  is,  however,  to  be  found  in  the  fact 
that  the  action  of  the  most  violent  storms  reaches  only 
to  a  small  depth.  Except,  therefore,  near  the  mouths  of 
rivers,  or  where  there  is  much  vegetation,  which  in  the 
large  lakes  is  rarely  the  case,  the  deposition  of  mud 
at  depths  greater  than  four  feet  is  an  extremely  slow 
process,  and  objects  which  fall  to  the  bottom  in  such 
situations  will  neither  be  covered  over  nor  carried  away. 
"J'ai  peche,"  says  M.  Troyon,  "  sur  I'emplacement  en 
face  du  Moulin  de  Bevaix,  les  fragments  d'un  grand  vase 
qui  gisaient  a  peu  de  distance  les  uns  des  autres,  et  que 
j'ai  pu  reunir  de  maniere  a  les  remontre  completement. 
A  la  Tongue,  pres  d'Hermance,  j'ai  trouve  les  deux 
fragments  d'un  anneau  support,  distants  de  quelques  pieds, 
qui,  en  les  raprochant  ne  laissent  aucun  interstice."  The 
upper  parts  of  the  objects  also,  which  are  bathed  by  the 
water,  are  generally  covered  by  a  layer  of  carbonate  of 
lime,  while  the  lower  part  which  has  sunk  into  the  mud 
is  quite  unaltered.  M.  Troyon  once  obtained  at  Cortaillod 
a  pair  of  bracelets  in  one  haul  of  the  dredge — the  first, 
which  had  been  visible  from  the  boat,  was  greenish  and 
covered  with  incrustation  ;  the  second,  which  had  been  in 
the  mud  immediately  below,  was  as  fresh  as  if  it  had  only 
just  been  made. 

As  piles  of  the  Bronze  Age  are  sometimes  found  at  a 


I90  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

depth  of  as  much  as  fifteen  feet,  and  as  it  is  manifest  that 
buildings  cannot  have  been  constructed  over  water  much 
deeper  than  this,  it  is  evident  that  the  Swiss  lakes  cannot 
then  have  stood  at  a  much  higher  level  than  at  present. 
This  conclusion  is  confirmed  by  the  position  of  Roman 
remains  at  Thonon,  on  the  Lake  of  Geneva,  and  we  thus 
obtain  satisfactory  evidence  that  the  height  of  the  Swiss 
lakes  must  have  remained  almost  unaltered  for  a  very 
long  period. 

In  the  large  lakes  the  passing  traveller  may  readily 
mark  the  number  and  general  distribution  of  the  piles  ;  he 
may  determine  the  area  which  they  occupy,  and  pick  up 
fragments  of  bone  and  pottery  ;  but,  on  the  whole,  the 
peat-mosses  are  more  instructive.  In  them  we  not  only 
obtain  evidence  as  to  the  size,  form,  and  construction  of 
the  huts,  but  implements  of  wood,  specimens  of  fruit, 
nuts,  grain,  and  even  fragments  of  clothing,  none  of 
which  can  be  preserved  in  the  open  water  of  the  large 
lakes. 

After  having  chosen  a  favourable  situation,  the  first 
step  in  the  construction  of  the  lake-habitations  was  to 
obtain  the  necessary  timber.  To  cut  down  a  tree  with  a 
stone  hatchet  must  have  been  no  slight  undertaking.  It 
is,  indeed,  most  probable  that  use  was  made  of  fire,  in  the 
same  manner  as  is  done  by  existing  savages  in  felling  trees 
and  making  canoes.  Burning  the  wood  and  then  scraping 
away  the  charred  portion  renders  the  task  far  more  easy, 
and  the  men  of  the  Stone  Period  appear  to  have  avoided 
the  use  of  large  trees,  except  in  making  their  canoes. 
Their  piles  were  embedded  in  the  mud  from  one  to  five  feet, 
and  must  also  have  projected  from  four  to  six  feet  above 
the  water  level,  which  cannot  have  been  very  different 
from  what  it  is  at  present.  They  must,  therefore,  have 
had  a  length  of  from  fifteen  to  thirty  feet,  and  they  were 
from  three  to  nine  inches  in  diameter.  The  pointed 
extremity  which  entered  into  the  mud  still  bears  the  marks 
of  the  fire  and  the  rude  cuts  made  by  the  stone  hatchets. 
The  piles  belonging  to  the  Bronze  Period,  being  prepared 
with  metal  axes,  were  much  more  regularly  pointed,  and 


CONSTRUCTION  OF  LAKE-DWELLINGS     191 


the  differences  between  the  two  have  been  ingeniously- 
compared  to  those  shown  by  lead  pencils  well  and  badly 
cut.  Moreover,  the  cuts  made  by  the  ordinary  Swiss 
stone  axe  (fig.  185)  are  more  or  less  concave,  whereas 
those  made  with  metal  are  flat.  To  drag  the  piles  to  the 
lake,  and  fix  them  firmly,  must  also  have  required  much 
labour,  especially  when  their  number  is  considered.  At 
Wangen  alone  M.  Lohle  has  calculated  that  50,000  piles 
were  used  ;  but  we  must  remember  that  these  were 
probably  not  all  planted  at  one  time  nor  by  one  genera- 
tion. Wangen,  indeed,  was  certainly  not  built  in  a  day, 
but  was,  no  doubt,  gradually  en- 
larged as  the  population  increased. 
Herodotus  informs  us  that  the 
Paeonians  made  the  first  platform 
at  the  public  expense,  but  that, 
subsequently,  at  every  marriage 
(and  polygamy  was  permitted),  the 
bridegroom  was  expected  to  add  a 
certain  number  of  piles  to  the  com- 
mon support.  Fig.  184  represents 
a  section  taken  at  Robenhausen, 
and  shows  two  series  of  piles,  one 
over  the  other.     The  layer  of  ashes      ^,       „      ^     . 

.     J.  .       •'    .  ,  Fig.  184. — Section  of  the 

appears   to    mdlCate   that    the    settle-     lake-dwelling  at  Niederwyl. 

ment  was  burnt  down,  and  subse- 
quently rebuilt.  The  pile-works  of  subsequent  periods 
differ  little  from  those  of  the  Stone  Age,  so  far  at  least  as 
can  be  judged  by  the  parts  remaining,  but  the  piles  are 
less  decayed,  and  project  above  the  mud  farther  than  is 
the  case  with  those  of  the  preceding  epoch. 

Through  the  kindness  of  Colonel  Suter,  I  had  an 
opportunity  of  examining  the  construction  of  the  lake- 
dwelling  at  Wauwyl,  near  Zofingen,  in  the  canton  of 
Lucerne.  This  apparently  belonged  to  the  Stone  Age, 
no  trace  of  metal  having  yet  been  discovered  in  it.  It  is 
situated  in  a  peat  moss,  which  was  evidently  at  one  time 
the  bed  of  a  shallow  lake.  By  the  gradual  growth  of 
peat,  however,  the  level  has  been  raised  several  feet,  and 


192  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

the  plain  has  recently  been  drained.  We  were  assisted 
by  six  labourers,  who  dug  out  the  peat,  which  we  then 
carefully  examined.  I  mention  this  because  the  difference 
in  the  objects  collected  from  different  Pfahlbauten  may 
probably  be,  in  part  at  least,  accounted  for  by  the  different 
ways  in  which  the  search  has  been  made.  The  peat  at 
Wauwyl  varies  in  thickness  from  3  to  lo  feet,  and  rests 
on  a  white  bed  consisting  of  broken  fresh-water  shells. 
This  stratum,  though  only  a  few  inches  thick,  is  found  in 
the  old  beds  of  many  small  lakes,  and  is  frequently 
mentioned  by  the  Swiss  archaeologists  under  the  name  of 
"  weissgrund."  It  must  not,  however,  be  confounded 
with  the  "  blancfond  "  of  the  larger  lakes.  The  piles  go 
through  the  peat  and  the  "  weissgrund  "  into  the  solid 
ground  below.  It  is  not  easy  to  obtain  them  whole, 
because  the  lower  portions  are  much  altered  by  time,  and 
so  thoroughly  saturated  by  water  that  they  are  quite  soft. 
Colonel  Suter,  however,  extracted  two  of  them  ;  one  was 
14  feet  6  inches  in  length,  of  which  4  feet  was  in  the  peat, 
and  the  remaining  10  feet  6  inches  in  the  sand  beneath  ; 
the  other  was  only  8  feet  6  inches  long,  4  feet  of  which 
was  in  the  peat,  the  other  4  feet  6  inches  in  the  solid 
ground.  The  piles  vary  from  3  to  5  inches  in  diameter, 
and  are  always  round,  never  having  been  squared.  The 
lower  part  is  very  badly  cut,  so  that  it  is  difficult  to 
understand  how  they  can  have  been  forced  to  so  great  a 
depth  into  the  ground. 

In  most  of  the  Pfahlbauten  the  piles  are  scattered,  more 
or  less  irregularly,  over  the  whole  extent  of  the  settle- 
ment :  at  Wauwyl  this  is  not  the  case,  but  they  enclose, 
as  it  were,  four  quadrangular  areas,  the  interiors  of  which 
are  occupied  by  several  platforms  one  over  the  other,  the 
interstices  being  filled  up  by  branches,  leaves,  and  peat. 
The  objects  of  antiquity  are  not  scattered  throughout  the 
peat,  but  lie  either  on  the  layer  of  broken  shells,  which 
formed  the  then  bottom  of  the  lake,  or  in  the  lower  part 
of  the  peat.  It  is,  therefore,  evident  that  almost  the 
whole,  if  not  the  whole,  of  the  peat  has  grown  since  the 
time  at  which  this  interesting  ruin  was  inhabited.     The 


REMAINS   FOUND   AT   WAUWYL        193 

upper  part  had,  however,  been  removed  before  our  arrival, 
so  that  the  "  Culturgeschicht,"  the  layer  containing  the 
objects  of  antiquity,  was  exposed  ready  for  examination  in 
the  manner  already  described. 

Some  of  the  piles  still  stood  two  or  three  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  peat,  but  the  greater  number  were  broken  off 
lower  down.  We  stood  on  one  of  the  upper  platforms, 
which  seems  to  have  been  the  floor  on  which  the  huts 
were  erected,  and  the  beams  of  which  are  still  perfectly 
preserved.  It  was  at  first  a  question  in  what  manner  the 
platforms  at  this  place  were  supported  ;  whether  they  lay 
like  a  raft  on  the  surface  of  the  water,  rising  and  sinking 
with  it  ;  ^  or  whether  they  were  fixed,  and  rested  on  a 
sort  of  artificial  island,  formed  by  the  clay,  branches,  etc., 
which  now  occupy  the  interspaces  between  the  different 
platforms.  Subsequent  observations,  however,  confirmed 
as  they  have  been  by  discoveries  elsewhere,  as,  for  instance, 
at  Inkwyl  and  Niederwyl,  have  decided  the  question  in 
favour  of  the  latter  hypothesis. 

During  my  visit  at  Wauwyl  we  obtained  4  small  stone 
axes,  I  arrow-head,  4  flint  flakes,  1 5  rude  stone  hammers, 
8  whetstones,  33  slingstones,  8  instruments  of  bone,  and 
2  of  wood,  besides  numerous  bones,  and  a  great  quantity 
of  broken  pottery.  Colonel  Suter  regarded  this  as  a  fair 
average  day's  work.  Altogether  about  500  instruments 
of  stone  and  bone  had  been  discovered  at  Wauwyl  ;  at 
Moosseedorf  more  than  3300  ;  at  Wangen  no  less  than 
5800,  while  M.  Troyon  estimated  that  those  at  Concise 
must  have  amounted  to  25,000,  and  these  numbers  have 
since  been  largely  increased. 

The  axe  was  pre-eminently  the  implement  of  antiquity. 
It  was  used  in  war  and  in  the  chase,  as  well  as  for  domestic 
purposes,  and  great  numbers  have  been  found,  especially 
at  Wangen  (Lake  of  Constance)  and  Concise  (Lake  of 
Neufchatel).  With  a  few  exceptions,  they  are  small, 
especially  when  compared  with  the  magnificent  specimens 

*  IJwellin<;s  of  this  character  occur  in  the  East  and  in  South  America. 
See,  for  instance,  Anderson's  Mission  to  Sumatra^  ]).  395  ;  Squier, 
American  Naiuraiist,  vol.  iv.  p.   18. 

13 


194 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


from  Denmark  ;  in  length  they  varied  from  i  to  6  inches, 
while  the  cutting  edge  had  generally  a  width  of  from  1 5 
to  20  lines.  Flint  was  sometimes  used,  and  nephrite  or 
jade  in  a  few  cases,  but  serpentine  and  diorite  were  the 
principal  materials.  Most  of  the  larger  settlements  were 
evidently  manufacturing  places,  and  many  spoilt  pieces 
and  half-finished  specimens  have  been  found.  After 
having  chosen  a  stone,  the  first  step  was  to  reduce  it  by 

blows  with  a  hammer  to  a  suitable 
size.  Then  grooves  were  made 
artificially,  which  must  have  been 
a  very  tedious  and  difficult  opera- 
tion, when  flint  knives,  sand,  and 
water  were  the  only  available  in- 
struments. Having  carried  the 
grooves  to  the  required  depth, 
the  projecting  portions  were  re- 
moved by  a  skilful  blow  with  a 
hammer,  and  the  implement  was 
then  sharpened  and  polished  on 
blocks  of  sandstone. 

The  axes  appear  to  have  been 
fastened  into  the  handles  by  means 
of  bitumen,  obtained  probably 
either  from  the  Val  de  Travers 
near  Neufchatel  or  from  the  Perte 
du  Rhone. 

The  stone  knives  may  be  con- 
sidered as  of  two  sorts.  Some 
differ  from  the  axes  principally  in 
having  their  width  greater  than  their  length.  In  other 
cases  flint  flakes  were  set  in  wooden  handles,  and  fastened, 
like  the  axes,  by  means  of  bitumen.  Saws  also  (fig.  138) 
were  made  in  a  similar  manner,  but  with  their  edges  some- 
what rudely  dentated  ;  we  do  not  find  in  Switzerland  any 
of  the  semi-lunar  stone  implements  which  are  frequent  in 
Denmark.  The  arrow-heads  were  made  of  flint,  or  in 
some  cases  of  rock-crystal,  and  were  of  the  usual  forms. 
Spindle-whorls     of     rude     earthenware     (fig.     186)    were 


Fig.  185. — Swiss  axe  of  ser- 
pentine, actual  size.  From 
Wangen,  on  the  Lake  of 
Constance.  In  my  own  col- 
lection. 


REMAINS    FOUND   AT  WAUWYL        195 


abundant  in  some  of  the  lake-villages  even  of  the  Stone 
Age.  The  presence  of  these  whorls  indicates  a  knowledge 
of  weaving,  which  indeed  is  proved  by  even  more  con- 
clusive evidence.  At  Locray,  a 
spindle-whorl  was  found  actually 
attached  to  the  spindle,  which 
had  thread  still  wound  round  it. 
There  are  also  found  rounded 
stones,  pierced  with  one  or  some- 
times two  holes.  The  use  of 
these  is  uncertain,  but  they  may 
perhaps  have  been  used  to  sink 
fishing-lines. 

The  flint  flakes  offer  no  peculi- 
arities ;  the  Swiss  specimens  are, 
however,   of    small   size.      Corn- 
crushers,  which   are   round   balls   of   hard  stone,  two  or 
three  inches  in  diameter,  occur  even  in  the  villages  of  the 
Stone  Age. 

The  list  of  objects  hitherto   found  at  Wauwyl    is    as 
follows  : — 


Fig.  186. — Spindle  whorl,  actual 
size.  From  Wangen,  on  the 
Lake  of  Constance.  In  my 
own  collection. 


Stone  axes,  principally  of  serpen- 

tine      ..... 
Small  flint  arrow-heads 

43 
36 

Flint  flakes        .... 

200 

Corn-crushers  .... 

i6^ 

Rude  stones,  used  as   hammers, 

common  (say) 
Whetstones       .... 

20 
26 

Not  all 
collected 

Slingstones,  etc. 

85J 

In  all  about 


426  articles  of  stone. 


The  flint,  of  which  the  flakes  and  arrow-heads  were 
formed,  must  have  come  from  a  distance,  and  the  best 
pieces  in  all  probability  were  obtained  from  France. 
Visits  may  have  been  made  lo  the  French  quarries,  just 
as  Catlin  tells  us  that  the  American  tribes,  from  far  and 
near,  visited    the    red  pipcstone    quarry    of    Coteau    des 


196 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


Prairies.  A  few  fragments  of  Mediterranean  coral  have 
been  found  at  Concise,  and  of  Baltic  amber  at  Meilen. 
Some  archaeologists  have  argued  from  these  facts  that 
there  must  have  been  a  certain  amount  of  commerce  even 
in  the  Stone  Age.  As,  however,  both  these  settlements 
appear  to  have  belonged  to  the  transitional  period 
between  the  Age  of  Stone  and  that  of  Bronze,  it  would 
be  safer  to  refer  both  the  amber  and  the  coral  to  the  later 
period. 

Like  other  savages,  the  lake-dwellers  made  the  most 
of  any  animal  they  could  catch.     They  ate  the  flesh,  used 


Fig.  187. — Piece  of  pottery,  showing  the  impressions  of  the  finger-tip,  and 
the  marks  of  the  nail,  actual  size.     Lake  of  Zurich. 

the  skin  for  clothing,  picked  every  fragment  of  marrow 
out  of  the  bones,  and  then,  in  many  cases,  fashioned  the 
bones  themselves  into  weapons.  The  larger  and  more 
compact  ones,  as  well  as  horns  of  the  deer,  served  as 
hammers,  and  were  used  as  handles  for  hatchets.  In 
some  cases,  pieces  of  bone  were  worked  to  an  edge,  but 
they  are  neither  hard  nor  sharp  enough  to  cut  well. 
Bone  awls  are  numerous,  and  may  have  been  used  in 
preparing  skins  for  clothes.  Fig.  140  represents  a  chisel 
or  scraper  of  bone,  from  Wangen.  One  purpose  for 
which  these  were  used  was  no  doubt  to  scrape  off  the  hair 
in  dressing  skins. 

A  few  objects  made  of  wood  have  also  been  found  at 
Wauwyl  and  elsewhere  ;    but    these,    even    if    originally 


POTTERY   OF   LAKE-DWELLERS        197 

numerous,  would  be  difficult  to  distinguish  from  the 
surrounding  peat,  especially  as  this  contains  so  many 
branches  of  trees  and  other  fragments  of  wood  ;  and  it 
would  also  be  very  difficult  to  extract  them  entire. 
Perhaps,  therefore,  implements  of  wood  may  have  been 
much  more  varied  and  common  than  the  collections 
would  appear  to  indicate.  Tinder  has  been  found  in 
several  of  the  lake-villages,  and  was  no  doubt  used  in 
obtaining  fire. 

The  pottery  of  the  Stone  Age  presents  nearly  the  same 
characters  in  all  the  settlements.  Very  rude  and  coarse, 
it  is  generally  found  in  broken  pieces,  and  comparatively 
few  entire  vessels  have  been  obtained.  There  is  no 
evidence  that  the  potter's  wheel  was  known,  and  the 
baking  is  very  imperfect,  having  apparently  taken  place 
in  an  open  fire.  The  material  is  also  very  rude,  and 
generally  contains  numerous  grains  of  quartz.  The  form 
is  frequently  cylindrical,  but  several  of  the  jars  are 
rounded  at  the  base,  and  without  feet.  A  curious 
character  is  the  frequent  presence  of  a  row  of  depressions 
which  do  not  completely  penetrate  the  thickness  of  the 
vessel  ;  but  the  commonest  decorations  are  simple  lines 
or  furrows,  made  sometimes  by  a  sharp  instrument, 
sometimes  by  the  finger-nail  (see  fig.  187),  and  occasion- 
ally produced  by  pressing  a  cord  on  the  soft  clay. 
Curved  lines  are  rare  ;  no  representation  of  any  animal 
has  yet  been  met  with  ;  and  the  vase  found  at  Wangen, 
a  restored  figure  of  which  has  been  given  both  by  Dr 
Keller  and  by  M.  Troyon,  is  almost  the  only  instance  in 
which  any  attempt  has  been  made  to  represent  a  plant. 
In  this  case  the  design  is  even  ruder  than  might  be 
inferred  from  the  above-mentioned  figures.^  In  some  of 
the  Bronze  Age  villages  rings  of  pottery  are  found, 
which  were  evidently  intended  to  serve  as  supports  for 
these  earthenware  tumblers,  but  none  of  them  have  yet 
been  met  with  in  any  of  the  Stone  Age  villages.  Possibly 
the  earthenware  during  the  Stone  Age  rested  on  the  soft 

^   In  Lee's  second  edition  of  Keller's  Lake  Dioellings^  pi.  xv.,  a  figure  is 
given  of  the  actual  fragments. 


198  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

earth,  and  tables  were  only  introduced  in  the  Bronze 
Age,  when  by  means  of  metallic  implements  it  became 
so  much  easier  to  cut  wood,  and  particularly  to  make 
boards.  Many  of  the  vessels  had  small  projections,  which 
were  pierced  in  such  a  manner  that  strings  might  be 
passed  through  them,  and  which  may,  therefore,  have 
served  for  suspension.  Some  of  the  vessels,  also,  are 
pierced   by  small  holes    at    different  levels  ;  it  has  been 


Fig.  188, — Net  tragment  from  Robenhausen. 

suggested  that  these  may  have  been  used  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  curds,  the  small  holes  being  intended  to  permit 
the  escape  of  the  milk.  The  ornaments  on  the  pottery 
belonging  to  this  age  are  of  a  very  rude  and  simple 
character.  Sometimes  a  row  of  knobs  runs  round  the 
vase,  just  below  the  lip  ;  this  style  of  ornamentation  is 
common  on  the  pottery  found  by  M.  Gillieron  at  the 
Pont  de  Thiele. 

Although  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  skins  of 
animals  supplied  the  ancient  lakemen  with  their  principal 
articles  of  clothing,  still  in  several  of  the  settlements,  and 


FABRICS   FROM    LAKE-VILLAGES 


199 


especially  at  Wangen  and  Robenhausen,  both  of  which 
belong  to  the  Stone  Age,  pieces  of  rude  fabric  (figs.  188- 
191)  have  been  found  in  some  abundance.  They  consist 
either  of  flax  fibres  or  straw.  The  presence  of  spindle- 
whorls  has  been  already  mentioned. 

For  our  knowledge  of  the  animal  remains  from  the 
pile-works  we  are  principally  indebted  to  Professor 
Ratimeyer.  The  bones  are  in  a  very  fragmentary  condi- 
tion, and  have  been  broken  open  for  the    sake    of    the 


Fig.  189. — Net  fragment  from  Robenhausen. 


marrow.  There  is  also  the  same  absence  of  certain  bones 
and  parts  of  bones,  so  that  it  is  impossible  to  reconstruct 
a  perfect  skeleton  even  of  the  commonest  animal. 

The  total  number  of  species  amounts  to  about  70, 
of  which  10  are  fishes,  4  reptiles,  26  birds,  and  the 
remainder  quadrupeds.  Of  the  latter,  6  species  may  be 
considered  as  having  been  domesticated  ;  namely,  the 
dog,  pig,  horse,  goat,  sheep,  and  at  least  two  varieties  of 
oxen.  The  bones  very  seldom  occur  in  a  natural  condi- 
tion ;  but  those  of  domestic  and  wild  animals  are  mixed 
together,  and  the  state  in  which  they  are  found,  the  marks 


200  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

of  knives  upon  them,  and  their  having  been  almost  always 
broken  open  for  the  sake  of  their  marrow,  are  all  evidences 
of  human  interference. 

Two  species,  the  one  wild,  the  other  domestic,  are 
especially  numerous — the  stag  and  the  ox.  Indeed,  the 
remains  of  these  two  equal  those  of  all  the  others  together. 
It  is,  however,  an  interesting  fact,  that  in  the  older 
settlements,    as    at    Moosseedorf,   Wauwyl,  and    Roben- 


FiG.  190. — Piece  of  tissue  from  Robenhausen. 

hausen,  the  stag  exceeds  the  ox  in  the  number  of 
specimens  indicated,  while  the  reverse  is  the  case  in  the 
more  modern  settlements  of  the  western  lakes,  as,  for 
instance,  those  at  Wangen  and  Meilen. 

Next  to  these  in  order  of  abundance  is  the  hog.  Less 
numerous  again,  and  generally  represented  by  single 
specimens  where  the  preceding  occur  in  numbers,  are  the 
roe,  the  goat,  and  the  sheep,  which  latter  is  most 
abundant  in  the  later  settlements.  With  these  rank  the 
fox  and  the  marten.  Foxes  are  occasionally  eaten  by  the 
Esquimaux.^     Captain  Lyon  seems  to  have  taken  rather  a 

'   Crantz,  History  of  Greenland^  vol.  i.  p.  73. 


FAUNA   OF   LAKE-VILLAGES  201 

fancy  to  them,^  and  Franklin  assures  us  that  fat  fox  is 
better  than  lean  venison.^  They  also  appear,  whether 
from  choice  or  necessity,  to  have  been  eaten  during  the 
Stone  Period.     This  conclusion  is  derived  from  the  fact 


Fig.  191. — Piece  of  tissue  from  Robenhausen. 

that  the  bones  often  present  the  marks  of  knives,  and 
have  been  opened  for  the  sake  of  the  marrow.  While, 
however,  the  fox  is  very  frequent  in  the  pile-works  of  the 
Stone  Epoch,  it  has  not  yet  been  found  in  any  settlement 
belonging  to  the  Bronze  Period.      Oddly  enough,  the  dog 

*  Lyon's /ouf/ia/,  p.  jy.  -  Franklin,  vol.  iii.  pp.  219  239. 


202  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

is  rarer  than  the  fox,  at  least  as  far  as  the  observations 
yet  go,  in  the  lake-dwellings  of  the  Stone  Period,  though 
more  common  than  the  horse  ;  and  of  other  species  but 
few  specimens  have  been  met  with,  though  in  some 
localities  the  beaver,  the  badger,  and  the  hedgehog  appear 
in  some  numbers.  The  bear  and  the  wolf,  as  well  as  the 
urus,  the  bison,  and  the  elk,  seem  to  have  occasionally 
been  captured  ;  it  is  probable  that  the  latter  species  were 
taken  in  concealed  pits. 

From  the  small  lake  at  Moosseedorf,  M.  Riltimeyer  has 
identified  the  following  list  : — Of  the  dog,  3  specimens  ; 
fox,  4  specimens  ;  beaver,  5  specimens ;  roe,  6  specimens ; 
goat  and  sheep,  10  specimens  ;  cow,  16  specimens  ;  hog, 
20  specimens  ;  stag,  20  specimens.  It  is  certainly  very 
striking  to  find  two  wild  species  represented  by  the  greatest 
number  of  specimens,  and  particularly  so,  since  this  is  no 
exceptional  case  ;  but  the  whole  sum  of  the  wild  exceeds 
that  of  the  domesticated  individuals,  a  result,  moreover, 
which  holds  good  in  other  settlements  of  this  epoch.  Not 
only  does  this  indicate  a  great  antiquity,  but  also  that  the 
population  must  have  been  sometimes  subjected  to  great 
privations,  partly  from  the  unavoidable  uncertainty  of  sup- 
plies so  obtained,  partly  because  it  is  improbable  that  foxes 
would  have  been  eaten  except  under  the  pressure  of  hunger. 

The  bones  of  the  stag  and  the  wild  boar  often  indicate 
animals  of  an  unusual  magnitude,  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  fox  appears  to  have  been  somewhat  smaller  than 
at  present.  The  dogs  varied  less  than  they  do  now  ;  in 
fact  they  all  belong  to  one  variety,  which  was  of  middle 
size,  and  appears  to  have  resembled  our  present  beagles. 
(M.  Riltimeyer  describes  it  as  "  resembling  the  Jagdhund  " 
and  the  "  Wachtelhund.")  The  sheep  of  the  Stone 
Period  differed  from  the  ordinary  form  in  its  small  size, 
fine  legs,  and  short  goat-like  horns  ;  particulars  in  which 
it  is  nearly  resembled  by  some  northern  and  mountain 
varieties  at  the  present  day,  as,  for  instance,  by  the  small 
sheep  of  the  Shetlands,  Orkneys,  Welsh  hills,  and  parts 
of  the  Alps.  At  Wauwyl,  however,  M.  Riltimeyer  found 
traces  of  an  individual,  with  large  horns.      Our  knowledge 


FAUNA   OF   LAKE-VILLAGES 


203 


of  the  wild  species  of  sheep  is  so  deficient,  that  M. 
Rutimeyer  does  not  venture  to  express  any  opinion  con- 
cerning the  origin  of  the  domestic  varieties,  but  his  present 
impression  is  that  they  will  eventually  be  traced  up  to 
several  wild  races. 


LIST  OF  SPECIES. 


1  Ursus  Arctos 

2  Meles  vulgaris    . 

3  Mustela  Foina   . 

4  .,         Martes 

5  ,,        Putorius 

6  „         Erminea 

7  „         Lutra  vulgaris 

8  Canis  Lupus 

9  „      familiaris  (palustris) 

10  „      Vulpes 

1 1  Felis  Catus  (ferus) 

12  Erinaceus  europasus  . 

13  Castor  Fiber 

14  Sciurus  europaeus 

1 5  Mus  sylvaticus   . 

16  Lepus  timidus 

1 7  Sus  Scrofa  ferus 

18  „    Palustris 

19  „    Scrofa  domesticus 

20  Equus  Caballus  . 

21  E.  Asinus  . 

22  Cervus  Alces 

23  „       Elaphus 

24  ,,       Capreolus 

25  Capra  Ibex 

26  ,,       Hircus 

27  Ovis  Aries  . 

28  Antilope  rupicapra 

29  Bos  primigenius 

30  „     Bison  . 

31  „     Taurus  primigenius 

32  ,,     Taurus  brachyceros 

33  „     Taurus  frontosus 


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In    his    first    memoir,  Professor    Riltimeyer    gives  an 
interesting  table,  which,  with  some  additions  which  I  owe 


204  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

to    his    kind    courtesy,    is    here    subjoined,    the    relative 
frequency  being  indicated  by  numerals  : 

1  denotes  a  single  individual  ; 

2  indicates  that  the  remains  of  several  individuals 

have  been  met  with  ; 

3  the  species  which  are  common  ; 

4  those  which  are  very  common  ;  and  lastly, 

5  those  which  are  present  in  great  number. 

The  almost  entire  absence  of  the  hare  is  perhaps  owing 
to  the  curious  prejudice  which  was  and  is  entertained  by 
many  races  against  the  flesh  of  this  animal.  It  was  never 
eaten  by  the  ancient  Britons,  and  is  avoided  by  the  Lapps 
at  the  present  day.  According  to  Burton,^  the  Somal 
Arabs  will  not  touch  it,  and  M.  Schlegel  also  states  that 
the  prejudice  against  it  existed  among  the  ancient  Chinese." 
The  Namaquas  (S.  Africa)  do  not  eat  it  for  fear  of 
becoming  timid.  In  confirmation  of  this,  it  may  be 
mentioned  that  it  was,  among  the  Hottentots,  forbidden 
to  men,  but  permitted  to  women.^  It  was  regarded  as 
unclean  by  the  Jews,  being  erroneously  supposed  to  chew 
the  cud.  According  to  Crantz,  the  Greenlanders,*  if  in 
want,  will  eat  foxes  rather  than  hares,  nor  do  its  remains 
occur  in  the  Danish  shell-mounds.  It  appears,  however, 
to  have  been  eaten  in  Palaeolithic  times.^ 

The  birds  which  have  been  discovered  are  : — 

Aquila  fulva.     The  golden  eagle.     At  Robenhausen. 
Aquila  haliatus.     A  single  bone  found  at  Moosseedorf 

is  rather  doubtfully   referred  to  this  species  by 

M.  Rutimeyer. 
Falco  mihus.     Robenhausen. 
Falco  palumbarius.     Wauwyl,  Moosseedorf. 
Falco  nisus.     Moosseedorf. 
Falco  Buteo.      Moosseedorf,  Robenhausen. 

1  Firsi  Footsteps,  p.  155. 

^  Aoies  cmd  Queries,  on  China,  Japan,  Hong-kong,  May  1868. 

^  Le  Vaillant,  Voyages  dans  rAfrique,  vol.  iv.  p.  187. 

"*  His/ory  of  Chrrnland,  p.  73. 

'->  Boyd  Dawkins,  Geol.  Jour.,  1876,  p.  247. 


BIRDS   OF   LAKE-VILLAGES  205 

Strix  aluco.     Concise. 

Strix  otus.     Moosseedorf, 

Strix  bubo.     Wangen. 

Sturnus  vulgaris.     Robenhausen. 

Corvus  corone.  „ 

Corvus  corax.  „ 

Cinclus  aquaticus.  ,, 

Columba  palumbus.  „  Moosseedorf. 

Tetrao  bonasia.  ,, 

Tetrao  lagopus.     Moosseedorf. 

Ciconia  alba.     Not  unfrequent  at  Moosseedorf  and 

Robenhausen. 
Ardea  cinerea.     Robenhausen. 
Grus  cinerea.  „ 

Fulica  atra.  „ 

Larus.     Two  sp.  „ 

Mergus. 

Mergus  merganser.  Bienne, 
Cygnus  olor.  Robenhausen. 
Anser  segetum.  „ 

Anas  boschas.     Robenhausen,  Moosseedorf,  Wauwyl. 
Anas  querquedula.  „  ,, 

Podiceps  minor.     Robenhausen. 

The  reptiles  and  fishes  are  represented  by  about  ten  of 
our  commonest  species. 

The  common  mouse  and  our  two  house-rats,  as  well 
as  the  domestic  cat,  are  absent  from  the  lake-habitations 
of  Switzerland,  as  also  from  the  Kjokkenmoddings  of 
Denmark  ;  the  same  is  the  case  with  the  common  fowl, 
which  seems,  moreover,  to  have  been  unknown  to  Homer 
and  Hesiod  ;  Professor  Riitimeyer  attributes  to  a  later 
period  a  single  bone  of  the  latter  bird  which  was  found 
at  Morges,  a  settlement  belonging  to  the  Bronze 
Period, 

The  earliest  remains  of  the  ass  mentioned  by  Professor 
Riitimeyer  are  those  found  at  Chavannes  and  Noville, 
which,  however,  were  not  connected  with  Pfahlbauten, 
and  belonged  to  post-Roman    times.      In  the  Bible,  the 


2o6  PREHISTORIC    TIMES 

ass  is  first  mentioned  in  the  time  of  Abraham,  who  had 
"  sheep,  and  oxen,  and  he-asses,  and  men-servants,  and 
maid-servants,  and  she-asses,  and  camels."^  It  will  be 
observed  that  in  this  enumeration  no  mention  is  made  of 
horses.  Laban,  again,  had  sheep,  and  goats,  and  cattle, 
and  camels,  and  asses,  but  apparently  no  horses.  Again, 
the  present  which  Jacob  sent  to  Esau  consisted  of  200  she- 
goats  and  20  he-goats,  200  ewes  and  20  rams,  30  milch 
camels  with  their  colts,  40  kine  and  10  bulls,  20  she-asses 
and  10  foals.^  Indeed,  no  mention  whatever  is  made  of 
horses  until  the  children  of  Israel  went  into  Egypt  ;  and 
from  the  copious  and  interesting  details  of  their  pastoral 
life,  we  may  feel  sure  that  horses  would  have  been  alluded 
to  if  the  Hebrews  had  possessed  them.  As  regards 
Egypt,  the  horse  is  not  represented  in  any  of  the  monu- 
ments anterior  to  the  eighteenth  dynasty,  after  which, 
however,  it  appears  to  have  become  abundant  in  that 
country. 

As  regards  the  Swiss  lake-villages,  it  is  singular  that 
though  remains  of  the  horse  have  been  found  in  all  the 
pile-works,  they  are  so  rare  that  their  presence  may  almost 
be  considered  accidental  :  thus,  Wangen  has  only  produced 
a  single  tooth  ;  Moosseedorf,  a  metatarsal  bone,  which 
has  been  polished  on  one  side  ;  Robenhausen,  a  single 
OS  naviculare  tarsi  ;  and  Wauwyl,  only  a  few  bones,  which 
may  all  have  belonged  to  a  single  individual.  On  the 
other  hand,  when  we  come  to  the  Bronze  Period,  we  find 
at  Nidau  numerous  bones  of  this  species  ;  so  that,  as  far 
as  these  slight  indications  go,  the  horse,  even  if  present 
in  the  Stone  Age,  seems  to  have  been  rarer  than  at  subse- 
quent periods.  All  the  remains  of  this  animal  belonged 
apparently  to  the  domestic  horse  {Equus  caballus)^  while 
those  which  occur  in  the  Drift  gravel  beds  and  in  caves 
fall  into  two  well-marked  races,  named  by  Professor  Owen 
E.  fossilis  and  E.  spel^us. 

"The  genealogy  of  the  domestic  hog,"  says  Mr  Boyd 
Dawkins,^  "  has  been    ascertained  by  MM.    Rutimeyer, 

^  Gen.  xii.  16.  -  Gen.  xxxiii.  14. 

■*  FalcFontographical  Soc,  1878,  vol.  xxxii.  p.  13. 


HORSE— BOAR  207 

Nathusius,  and  Schiltz,  with  great  accuracy,  and  Dr 
Darwin  has  summed  up  the  evidence  with  judicial  im- 
partiality.^ It  is  traced,  by  these  observers,  to  two  distinct 
strains,  the  one  being  the  wild  boar,  which  is  found 
throughout  the  temperate  and  hot  regions  of  Europe, 
Asia,  and  in  North  Africa  ;  and  (the  other)  that  which  is 
termed  by  Nathusius  the  Sus  Indicdy  of  Pallas,  and  which 
is  known  commonly  as  the  small,  short-legged,  and  short- 
headed  pig  of  Siam  and  China." 

M.  Rutimeyer,  in  a  letter  with  which  he  has  favoured 
me,  says  he  is  now  convinced  that  the  Sus  palustris  "  was 
imported  from  the  East,  and  stands  in  nearest  relation  to 
Sus  vittatus  of  East  Asia,  the  stock  from  which  all  Asiatic, 
most  African  and  Southern  European  (Roman  and  Greek) 
races  are  derived,"  the  Northern  European  race  being,  on 
the  contrary,  derived  from  the  wild  boar. 

Our  domestic  hog  first  makes  its  appearance  in  the  later 
pile-works.  Professor  Riitimeyer  does  not,  however, 
believe  that  it  was  tamed  by  the  inhabitants  of  Switzerland, 
but  is  rather  disposed  to  look  upon  it  as  having  been 
introduced  during  the  Bronze  Age,  and  the  more  so  as 
he  also  finds  at  Concise  traces  of  a  variety  of  the  ox 
{B.  trochoceros')  which  does  not  occur  in  the  earlier  pile- 
works. 

The  discovery  of  dung  among  the  remains  of  the 
Pfahlbauten  sufficiently  proves  that  the  lake-dwellers  had 
domestic  animals,  but  there  are  also  other  indications  from 
which  we  may  draw  the  same  conclusion. 

In  endeavouring  to  ascertain  whether  any  given  bones 
belonged  to  a  wild  or  domesticated  animal,  we  must  be 
guided  by  the  following  considerations  :  the  number  of 
individuals  represented  ;  the  relative  proportions  of  young 
and  old  ;  the  absence  or  presence  of  very  old  individuals,  at 
least  in  the  case  of  species  that  serve  for  food  ;  the  traces 
of  long,  though  indirect,  selection,  in  diminishing  the  size 
of  any  natural  weapons  which  might  be  injurious  to  man  ; 
the  direct  action  of  man  during  the  life  of  the  animal  ; 
and,  finally,  the  texture  and  condition  of  the  bones. 

'    Variations  under  Domestication,  \ol.  i.  ch.  i. 


2o8 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


Applying  these  considerations  to  the  Sus  palustris  from 
Moosseedorf,  Professor  Ratimeyer  concludes  that  there 
is  no  evidence  that  any  of  them  belonged  to  domesticated 
specimens. 

Professor  Riltimeyer  has  also  paid  great  attention  to 
the  texture  and  condition  of  the  bones  themselves,  and 
believes  that  he  can,  in  many  cases,  from  these  alone  dis- 
tinguish the  species,  and  even  determine  whether  the 
bone  belonged  to  a  wild  or  a  domesticated  animal. 

In  wild  animals  the  bones  are  of  a  firmer  and  closer 


Fig.  192. — Portion  of  the  vertebra  of  a  cow. 

texture  ;  there  is  an  indescribable,  but  to  the  accustomed 
eye  very  characteristic,  sculpturing  of  the  external  surface, 
produced  by  the  sharper  and  more  numerous  impressions 
of  vessels,  and  the  greater  roughness  of  the  surfaces  for 
the  attachment  of  muscles.  There  is  also  an  exaggeration 
of  all  projections  and  ridges,  and  a  diminution  of  all 
indifferent  surfaces.  The  contrast  thus  produced  will  be 
seen  from  figs.  192  and  193,  the  first  of  which  represents 
a  portion  of  a  vertebra  belonging  to  a  domestic  cow,  the 
second  the  corresponding  surface  of  the  same  bone  from 
the  bison.  In  considering  the  remains  of  oxen,  these 
distinctions  have  proved  of  the  greatest  importance.  By 
their  assistance  Professor  Rutimeyer  has  convinced  himself 


VARIOUS    SPECIES   OF   OXEN 


•09 


that,  besides  the  two  wild  species  of  bos,  namely,  the  urus 
{B.primigenius)  and  the  aurochs  {B.  bison  or  Bison  europdeus\ 
four  principal  races  of  domestic  oxen  occur  in  the  lake- 
villages/ 

The  first  of  these,  the  Primigenius  race,  closely  resembles 
the  urus  or  Bos  primigenius^  and  was  no  doubt  descended 
from  it.  It  occurs  in  all  the  earlier  pile-works,  and  in 
the  present  day  is  best  represented  by  the  great  oxen  of 
Friesland,  Jutland,  and  Holstein. 

The  second,  or    Trochoceros  race,  has  not  hitherto  been 


Fig.  193. — Corresponding  portion  of  the  vertebra  of  a  bison. 

found  in  any  of  the  Stone  Age  villages.  Rutimeyer 
regards  it  as  scarcely  distinguishable  from  the  urus,  and 
observes  that  its  peculiarities  are  principally,  though  not 
exclusively,  developed  in  the  female  sex. 

The  third,  or  Frontosus  race,  occurs  but  sparingly  in 
the  older  Pfahlbauten  ;  becomes  more  frequent  in  the 
Bronze  Age  villages,  and  prevails  at  the  present  day  in 
northern  Switzerland.  Professor  RQtimeyer  considers 
this  variety  also  to  be  derived  from  the  urus,  and  remarks 
that  while  the  wild  cattle  of  Chillingham  are  true  to  the 
Primigenius  form,  some  of  the  Lyme  Park  cattle  approach 
'  Ar.  fur  Anikropoloi^ie,  1866,  p.  219. 

14 


2IO  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

to  the  Frontosus  type.  He  has,  however,  never  seen  a 
skull  of  this  type  belonging  to  an  undoubtedly  wild 
animal. 

The  fourth  is  the  Longifrons  or  Brachyceros  race.  The 
name  Brachyceros,  by  which  it  was  at  first  known,  must 
be  abandoned,  having  been  previously  applied  by  Dr  Gray 
to  an  African  ox.  This  variety  is  extremely  abundant  in 
all  the  Pfahlbauten.  Professor  Rtltimeyer  regards  it  as 
descended,  not  from  the  urus,  but  from  a  second  and 
smaller  species,  perhaps  from  the  Bos  indicus.  He 
remarks,  however,  that  if  it  be  derived  from  the  urus,  it 
is  at  least  a  more  distinct,  and  must  be  an  older  variety 
than  any  of  the  preceding.  Professor  Riltimeyer  admits 
that  we  have  no  evidence  that  B.  longifrons  ever  existed 
in  a  wild  state  in  Central  Europe. 

Professor  M'Kenny  Hughes^  considers  that  the  bison 
became  extinct  in  Britain  before  the  Neolithic  Period,  and 
that  none  of  our  domestic  breeds  can  be  traced  to  it  : 
that  the  urus  was  domesticated  in  the  Neolithic  Period, 
but  became  extinct  before  the  Roman  period  :  that  the 
shorthorn  was  the  characteristic  ox  of  the  Bronze  Age, 
but  was  improved  in  Roman  times  by  cattle  brought 
from  Italy  :  and  that  the  Chillingham  wild  cattle,  which 
have  been  generally  regarded  as  descended  from  the 
urus,  are  really  derived  from  this  breed  and  not  from  the 
urus, 

M.  de  Quatrefages^  considers  all  our  domestic  oxen  to 
be  descendants  of  the  urus  ;  while  Mr  Darwin  ^  regards 
B.  longifrons  and  B.  frontosus  as  the  modern  represen- 
tatives of  wild  ancestors,  specifically  distinct  from  B. 
primigenius  ;  and  concludes  therefore  that  our  "  domestic 
cattle  are  almost  certainly  the  descendants  of  more  than 
one  wild  form." 

Mr  Boyd  Dawkins  *  has  shown  that,  as  far  as  this 
country  is  concerned,  we  have  no  conclusive  evidence  of 

1  Archcrologia^  1898. 

'■^  Rev.  des  Cours  Scicntifiques.,  1868,  p.  563. 

^  Animals  and  Plants  under  Domestication.,  vol.  i.  p.  81. 

*  Boyd  Dawkins,  Gcol.Jour.,  1867,  p.  182. 


AUROCHS,   ELK,   RED   DEER  211 

more  than  two  species  of  wild  oxen,  namely,  the  urus  and 
the  bison.  The  smaller  varieties  appear  to  have  been 
introduced  as  domesticated  animals,  and  probably  do  not 
go  back  beyond  the  Neolithic  Period.  According  to 
Nilsson,  on  the  contrary,  both  the  B.  frontosus  and 
B.  longifrons  inhabited  Sweden  as  wild  races. ^  My 
own  impression  is  that  the  urus  was  domesticated  in 
Europe  ;  but  also  that  some  at  least  of  the  early  settlers 
brought  domestic  cattle  with  them,  which  may  very 
probably  have  belonged  to  a  distinct  wild  race.  Further 
evidence,  however,  is  much  needed  on  this  interesting 
subject. 

Making  allowance  then  for  the  marine  animals,  such  as 
seals,  fish,  oysters,  cockles,  whelks,  etc.,  which  we  could 
not  expect  to  find  so  far  away  from  the  sea,  the  fauna 
indicated  by  the  remains  found  in  the  Swiss  lakes  agrees 
remarkably  with  that  which  characterizes  the  Danish 
KjokkenmCddings,  so  far  as  wild  animals  are  concerned, 
and  belongs  evidently  to  a  far  later  age  than  that  of  the 
celebrated  stone  hatchets,  which  were  first  made  known 
to  us  by  the  genius  and  perseverance  of  M.  Boucher  de 
Perthes. 

Instead  of  the  elephant  and  rhinoceros,  we  find  in  the 
Neolithic  or  second  Stone  Period — in  that,  namely,  of  the 
KjokkenmOddings  and  "  Pfahlbauten  " — the  urus  and 
bison,  the  elk  and  the  red  deer,  already  installed  as 
monarchs  of  the  forest.  Even  the  reindeer  is  altogether 
absent.  The  red  deer,  on  the  contrary,  and  the  boar, 
appear  to  have  been  very  frequent,  and  to  have  formed  a 
most  important  article  of  food  for  the  lake-dwellers. 
The  urus,  or  great  fossil  ox,  is  now  altogether  extinct,  at 
least  as  a  wild  species.^  It  is  mentioned  by  Caesar,  who 
describes  it  as  being  little  smaller  than  an  elephant.  (Hi 
sunt  magnitudine  paulo  infra  elephantos  specie  et  colore 
et     figura    tauri.)       According     to    Herberstein,    it    still 

1  Ann.  and  Ma^:  of  Nat.  Hist..,  1849,  PP-  349  35i- 

-  Professor  Riitimeyer,  as  I  have  already  mentioned,  considers  that  the 
celebrated  wild  cattle  of  Tankerville  Park  are  unmistakable,  though 
dwarfish,  descendants  of  the  B.  prijuigetiius. 


212  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

existed  in  Germany  during  the  sixteenth  century,  soon 
after  which,  however,  it  must  have  become  extinct. 

The  aurochs,  or  European  bison,  seems  to  have  dis- 
appeared from  Western  Europe  at  about  the  same  period 
as  the  urus.  There  is  no  historical  record  of  its  existence 
in  England  or  Scandinavia.  In  Switzerland  we  cannot 
trace  it  later  than  the  tenth  century  ;  but  it  is  mentioned 
in  the  Niehelungen  Lied^  of  the  twelfth  century,  as  occur- 
ring in  the  Forest  of  Worms  ;  and  in  Prussia  the  last 
was  killed  in  the  year  1775.  At  one  period,  indeed,  it 
appears  to  have  inhabited  almost  the  whole  of  Europe, 
much  of  Asia,  and  part  even  of  America  ;  but  at  present 
it  is  confined  in  Europe  to  the  imperial  forests  in 
Lithuania,  where  it  is  preserved  by  the  Emperor  of 
Russia  ;  while,  according  to  Nordmann  and  Von  Baer,  it 
still  exists  in  some  parts  of  Western  Asia. 

We  have  no  notice  of  the  existence  of  the  elk  in 
Switzerland  during  the  historical  period,  but  it  is 
mentioned  by  Caesar  as  existing  in  the  great  Hercynian 
forest  ;  and  even  in  the  twelfth  century  it  was  to  be  met 
with  in  Sclavonia  and  Hungary,  according  to  Albertus 
Magnus  and  Gesner.  In  Saxony,  the  death  of  the  last 
elk  is  recorded  as  having  occurred  in  1746.  At  present 
it  inhabits  Prussia  and  Lithuania,  Finland  and  Russia, 
Scandinavia  and  Siberia,  as  far  as  the  shores  of  the  Amoor. 

The  ibex  survived  in  the  Swiss  Alps  somewhat  longer 
than  the  elk.  It  has  lingered  longest  in  the  West.  In 
Glarus  the  last  one  perished  in  1550,  though  near 
Chiavenna  it  existed  until  the  commencement  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  and  in  the  Tyrol  until  the  second 
half  of  the  eighteenth  ;  while  a  few  still  exist  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Mount  Iseran,  where  they  are  pro- 
tected by  the  King  of  Italy. 

The  extermination  of  the  bear,  like  that  of  the  ibex, 
seems  to  have  begun  in  the  East,  and  is  not  yet  complete, 
since  this  animal  still  occurs  in  the  Jura  and  the  Grisons, 
whence  it  occasionally  visits  the  Valais  and  the  south- 
eastern parts  of  Switzerland.^     The   fox,  the  otter,  and 

*   It  is  probably  now  (1913)  extinct  in  Switzerland. 


GENERAL  CHARACTER  OF  FAUNA  213 

the  different  species  of  weasel,  are  still  the  common 
carnivora  of  Switzerland,  and  the  wild  cat,  badger,  and 
wolf  still  occur  in  the  Jura  and  the  Alps,  the  latter  in 
cold  winters  venturing  even  into  the  plains.  The  beaver, 
on  the  contrary,  has  at  last  disappeared  from  Switzerland. 
It  has  long  been  very  rare,  but  some  survived  until  the 
beginning  of  the  present  century  in  Lucerne  and  Valais. 
A  few  still  exist  in  France  near  the  mouth  of  the  Rhone. 
Red  deer  were  abundant  in  the  Jura  and  the  Black 
Forest  in  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries,  though 
they  do  not  appear  to  have  been  so  large  as  those  which 
lived  in  earlier  times.  The  last  was  shot  in  the  canton 
of  Basle,  at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century,  while  in 
western  Switzerland  and  Valais  they  lingered  somewhat 
longer.     The  roe-deer  still  occurs  in  some  places. 

It  appears,  therefore,  that  the  animals  of  the  Swiss 
pile-works  belong  to  the  fauna  which  has  occupied  Europe 
from  the  commencement  of  the  Palaeolithic  Period  down 
to  the  present  time. 

While,  however,  we  must  regard  the  fauna  of  the 
Stone  Age  as  belonging  to  the  same  great  zoological 
epoch  as  that  of  the  river  drift  gravels  on  the  one  hand, 
and  the  present  time  on  the  other,  we  cannot  forget  that 
the  immense  period  which  has  elapsed  since  the  end  of 
the  tertiary  period  has  produced  great  changes  in  the 
fauna  of  Europe.  In  this  post-tertiary  era  the  pile-works 
occupy,  so  to  say,  the  middle  position.  Distinguished 
from  the  present  fauna  of  Switzerland  by  the  possession 
of  the  urus,  the  bison,  the  elk,  the  stag,  and  the  wild 
boar,  as  well  as  by  the  more  general  distribution  of  the 
beaver,  the  bear,  the  ibex,  etc.,  their  fauna  differs  from 
that  of  the  drift  gravels  in  the  absence  of  the  mammoth, 
the  rhinoceros,  the  musk  ox,  the  cave  hyaena,  and  the 
reindeer. 

Professor  Riltimeyer  thinks  that  from  similar  considera- 
tions alone,  even  if  we  had  no  other  evidence,  we  might 
carry  this  division  farther  ;  and  if  we  take  the  settlements 
at  Moosseedorf,  Wauwyl,  Robenhausen,  and  Nidau, 
which  have  been  the  most  carefully  studied  in  this  respect, 


214  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

it  certainly"  appears  that  the  three  former,  which  belong 
to  the  Stone  Age,  offer  a  marked  contrast  to  the  latter, 
which  is  the  locality  whence  the  largest  number  of  bronze 
objects  has  as  yet  been  obtained. 

It  is  of  course  unnecessary  to  point  out  the  interest 
and  importance  of  such  a  distinction,  which  accords  so 
well  with  that  indicated  by  the  study  of  the  weapons  and 
the  state  of  preservation  of  the  piles.  Thus,  the  urus 
has  only  occurred  at  Moosseedorf,  Wauwyl,  Robenhausen, 
Wangen,  and  Concise  ;  the  aurochs  only  at  Moosseedorf, 
Wauwyl,  and  Robenhausen  ;  the  bear  only  at  Moossee- 
dorf, Wauwyl,  Robenhausen,  Wangen,  and  Concise.  A 
glance  at  the  table  given  at  page  203  will  show  that 
several  other  species  have  as  yet  only  occurred  at 
Moosseedorf  and  Robenhausen  ;  a  fact,  however,  which 
indicates,  perhaps,  rather  the  richness  than  the  antiquity 
of  these  localities.  Possibly  we  may  consider  the  presence 
of  these  larger  species  as  an  indication  of  their  greater 
abundance  in  the  oldest  period  ;  but  we  must  not  forget 
that  not  only  the  bear  and  the  elk,  but  also  the  aurochs 
and  the  urus,  appear  at  a  comparatively  late  period.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  abundance  of  wild  animals,  and  the 
fact  that  at  Moosseedorf  and  Wauwyl  the  fox  was  more 
abundant  than  the  dog,  while  elsewhere  the  reverse  is  the 
case,  certainly  speak  in  favour  of  the  greater  antiquity  of 
these  two  settlements. 

The  evidence  derived  from  the  distribution  of  the 
domestic  animals  is  more  satisfactory.  The  sheep  occurs 
even  at  Moosseedorf,  though  not  so  numerous  as  at 
Nidau.  On  the  other  hand,  the  horse  is  frequent  at 
Nidau,  while  at  Moosseedorf  only  a  single  bone  of  this 
animal  was  discovered,  in  a  different  condition  from  that 
of  the  other  bones,  and  probably  more  recent.  Finally, 
the  domestic  hog  of  the  present  race  is  absent  from  all 
the  pile-works  of  the  Stone  Period,  excepting  the  one  at 
Wauwyl  ;  and  becomes  frequent  only  at  Nidau.  The 
following  table  shows  the  proportions  of  wild  and  tame 
animals  at  Wauwyl  and  Moosseedorf,  as  representing  the 
Age  of  Stone  ;  and  at  Nidau,  as  perhaps  the  best  illustra- 


FAUNA   OF   DIFFERENT   VILLAGES     215 


tion  of  that  of  Bronze,  i  represents  a  single  individual  ; 
2,  several  ;  3,  the  species  which  are  common  ;  4,  those 
which  are  very  common  ;  and  5,  those  which  are  present 
in  large  numbers. 


Wild  Animals. 

Wauwyl. 

Moosseedorf. 
2 

Nidau. 

Brown  Bear . 

2 

Badger. 

Marten .... 

2 
3 

2 
2 

Pine  Marten 

3 

2 

Polecat .... 

2 

2 

Wolf     .... 

I 

Fox       .        .                 . 
Wildcat 

3 

2 

3 
2 

Beaver  .... 

2 

3 

Elk        ...         . 

I 

Urus     .... 

I 

Bison     .... 

I 

I 

Stag      .     ■    . 
Roe  Deer 

5 
2 

5 
4 

Wild  Boar     . 
Marsh  Boar* 

Domestic  Animals. 

2 

3 

5 

5 

3 

Domestic  Boar 

?i 

3 

Horse    .... 

2 

?i 

3 

Ox         ...         . 
Goat      .... 

5 

2 

5 
2 

5 
3 

Sheep    .... 
Dog       .... 

i 

I 
2 

2 
2 

4 
3 

If  succeeding  investigations  confirm  the  conclusions 
thus  indicated,  we  may  infer  that  the  domestic  animals, 
which  were  comparatively  rare  in  the  Stone  Period, 
became  more  frequent  after  the  introduction  of  bronze  ; 
a  change  which  indicates  and  perhaps  produced  an  altera- 
tion of  habits  on  the  part  of  the  inhabitants. 

Rare,  indeed,  as  they  may  have  been,  oxen,  horses, 
sheep,  and  goats  could  not  be  successfully  kept  through 
the  winter  in  the  climate  of  Switzerland  without  store  of 
provisions  and  some  sort  of  shelter.     A  pastoral  people, 

*  Considered  by  Professor  Riitimeyer  to  have  been  at  first  wild,  but 
domesticated  at  Nidau,  and  in  the  later  Pfahlbauten. 


2i6  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

therefore,  must  have  reached  a  higher  grade  than  a  mere 
nation  of  hunters.  We  know,  moreover,  in  another  way, 
that  at  this  period  agriculture  was  not  entirely  unknown. 
This  is  proved  in  the  most  unexpected  manner,  by  the 
discovery  of  carbonized  cereals  at  various  points.  Wheat 
is  most  common,  having  been  discovered  at  Meilen, 
Moosseedorf,  and  Wangen.  At  the  latter  place,  indeed, 
many  bushels  of  it  were  found,  the  grains  being  united 
in  large  thick  lumps.  In  other  cases  the  grains  are  free, 
and  without  chaff,  resembling  our  present  wheat  in  size 
and  form,  while  more  rarely  they  are  still  in  the  ear. 
Ears  of  the  Hordeum  hexastichon  L.  (the  six-rowed 
barley)  are  somewhat  numerous.  This  species  differs 
from  the  H.  vulgare  L.  in  the  number  of  rows,  and  in 
the  smaller  size  of  the  grains.  According  to  De  Candolle, 
it  was  the  species  generally  cultivated  by  the  ancient 
Greeks,  Romans,  and  Egyptians.  In  the  ears  from 
Wangen,  each  row  has  generally  ten  or  eleven  grains, 
which,  however,  are  smaller  and  shorter  than  those  now 
grown. 

Three  varieties  of  wheat  were  cultivated  by  the  lake- 
dwellers,  who  also  possessed  two  kinds  of  barley,  and 
two  of  millet.  Of  these  the  most  ancient  and  most 
important  were  the  small  six-rowed  barley  and  small 
"  Lake-dwellers "  wheat.  The  discovery  of  Egyptian 
wheat  (Triticum  turgidum)  at  Wangen  and  Robenhausen 
is  particularly  interesting.  Oats  were  cultivated  during 
the  Bronze  Age,  but  are  absent  from  all  the  Stone  Age 
villages.     Rye  also  was  unknown. 

Wheat  and  millet  only  seem  to  have  been  used  for 
making  bread.  Professor  Heer  thinks  the  barley  was 
probably  roasted.  In  six-rowed  barley  the  husks  adhere 
very  closely  to  the  grain,  and  it  would  have  been  difficult 
to  separate  them  ;  when  roasted,  however,  they  could  be 
easily  detached  from  one  another. 

Still  more  unexpected  was  the  discovery  of  bread,  or 
rather  cakes,  for  their  texture  is  so  solid  that  leaven 
appears  not  to  have  been  used.  They  were  flat  and 
round,  from  an  inch  to  fifteen  lines   in  thickness,  and,  to 


FLORA   OF   LAKE-VILLAGES  217 

judge  from  one  specimen,  had  a  diameter  of  four  or  five 
inches.  In  other  cases  the  grains  seem  to  have  been 
roasted,  coarsely  ground  between  stones,  and  then  either 
stored  up  in  large  earthenware  pots,  or  eaten  after  being 
slightly  moistened.  Grain  treated  in  a  similar  manner  is 
even  now  eaten  in  Germany  and  Switzerland.  In  what 
way  the  ground  was  prepared  for  the  cultivation  of  corn  we 
know  not,  as  no  implements  have  as  yet  been  discovered 
which  can  with  certainty  be  regarded  as  agricultural. 

Carbonized  apples  have  been  found  at  Wangen,  some- 
times whole,  sometimes  cut  into  two,  or  more  rarely  into 
four  pieces,  and  evidently  dried  and  put  aside  for  winter 
use.  They  have  occurred  not  only  at  Wangen,  but  also 
at  Robenhausen  in  Lake  Pfeffikon,  and  at  Concise  in 
Lake  Neufchdtel.  They  are  small,  and  resemble  generally 
those  which  still  grow  wild  in  the  Swiss  forests  ;  at 
Robenhausen,  however,  specimens  have  occurred  which 
are  of  larger  size  and  were  probably  cultivated.  No 
trace  of  the  walnut,  the  cherry,  or  the  damson  has  yet 
been  met  with,  but  stones  of  the  wild  plum  and  the 
Prunus  padus  have  been  found.  Seeds  of  the  vine,  rasp- 
berry, and  blackberry,  and  shells  of  the  hazel-nut  and 
beech-nut  occur  plentifully  in  the  mud,  but  those  of 
the  strawberry  are  rare.  Peas  have  been  found  at 
Moosseedorf,  but  beans  do  not  appear  until  the  Bronze 

From  all  this,  therefore,  it  is  evident  that  the  nourish- 
ment of  the  dwellers  in  the  pile-works  consisted  of  corn 
and  wild  fruits,  of  fish,  and  the  flesh  of  wild  and  domestic 
animals.  Milk  also  was  doubtless  an  important  article 
of  their  diet. 

Altogether  115  species  of  plants  have  been  determined. 
The  wild  species  are  almost  entirely  the  same  as  those 
now  living  ;  the  Silene  cretica^  however,  a  South  European 
weed,  which  was  doubtless  introduced  originally  and 
accidentally  with  the  cereals,  and  which  has  been  found 
at  Robenhausen,  does  not  now  inhabit  Switzerland  ;  and 
the  Trapa  natans^  which  was  used  as  food  by  the  inhabitants 
of  Moosseedorf  and   Robenhausen,  was  supposed  to  be 


2l8 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


extinct  in  Switzerland,  but  is  now  known  to  occur  in  one 
locality. 

I  subjoin  a  table  which  I  have  compiled  from  Dr  Heer's 
memoir,  and  which  shows  the  more  interesting  species 
and  varieties. 


1.  Hordeum  (barley)  hexa- 

stichon  sanctum 

2.  Hordeum     hexastichon 

densum 

3.  Hordeum  distichum 

4.  Triticum    (wheat)    vul- 

gare  antiquorum 

5.  Triticum  vulgare   com- 

pactum  muticum 

6.  Triticum  turgidum 

(Egyptian    wheat) 

7.  Triticum  spelta 

8.  „         dicoccum 

9.  „         monococcum 

10.  Secale  cereale 

1 1.  Avena  sativa  (oats) 

12.  Panicum  miliaceum 

13.  Setaria  italica 

14.  Silene  cretica 

1 5.  Centaurea  cyanus  (corn 

flower) 

16.  Pastinaca  sativa    . 

17.  Faba  vulgaris 

18.  Pisum  sativum 

19.  Ervum  lens   . 

20.  Pyrus      malus      (small 

crab-apple) 

21.  Trapa  natans 

22.  Linum        angustifolium 

(flax) 


Stone  Age.   Transition.    Bronze  Age. 

a 

c 

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oi 

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<u 

0 
Oi 

c 
0 

* 
* 

* 
* 
* 

S 
i-i 

-6 

c 

in 
•V, 

% 

PL, 

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* 

* 

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* 

i       * 

! 

* 
■x- 

* 

* 

■x- 
* 
■x- 

•X- 
•X- 

•X- 
■X- 

■X- 

•X- 

■X- 
■X- 
■X- 

Neither   hemp,  oats,  nor    rye    have    yet    been    found. 
Small  pieces  of  twine  and   bits  of  matting  made  of  flax 
have  been   part   of   some   article   of   clothing.      For 

1  Only  one  ear,  subsequently  lost. 


may 


HUMAN   REMAINS  219 

this  purpose  also  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  skins 
of  animals  were  used.  Fragments  of  leather  have  been 
met  with,  and  some  of  the  stone  implements  seem  well 
adapted  to  assist  in  their  preparation,  while  the  bone  pins, 
and  needles  made  from  the  teeth  of  boars,  may  have 
served  to  fasten  them  together. 

Dr  Heer,  from  whose  very  interesting  memoir  ^  the 
above  facts  are  borrowed,  calls  particular  attention  to  the 
fact  that,  while  the  remains  of  wild  species  found  in  the 
Pfahlbauten  agree  in  the  most  minute  particulars  with 
those  still  living  in  Switzerland,  the  cultivated  plants,  on 
the  contrary,  differ  from  all  existing  varieties,  and  in- 
variably have  smaller  seeds  or  fruits.  Man  has  evidently 
in  the  course  of  time  effected  considerable  improvements. 
It  is  also  very  interesting  to  observe  how  the  evidence 
derived  from  the  Swiss  lake-dwellings  agrees  with  that 
contained  in  the  most  ancient  writings  which  we  possess. 
Thus  flax  is  mentioned  in  the  Pentateuch  and  in  Homer  ; 
it  was  also  largely  used  by  the  ancient  Egyptians,  while 
hemp  seems  to  have  been  unknown  until  a  later  period. 
So  also  wheat  and  barley,  but  neither  oats  nor  rye,^  are 
mentioned  in  Exodus  or  by  Homer.  Even  in  the  time 
of  David,  when  Barzillai  the  Gileadite  ^  "  brought  beds, 
and  basins,  and  earthen  vessels,  and  wheat,  and  barley,  and 
flour,  and  parched  corn,  and  beans,  and  lentiles,  and  parched 
pulse,  and  honey,  and  butter,  and  sheep,  and  cheese  of 
kine,"  it  will  be  observed  that  neither  oats  nor  rye  are 
mentioned.  Flax  also  is  alluded  to  nine  times  in  the  Old 
Testament,  and  linen  thirteen  times,  but  hemp  not  once. 

To  what  race  of  men  the  Swiss  lake-dwellings  are 
ascribable  we  have  as  yet  no  direct  evidence.  Human 
bones  are  very  rare  in  the  pile-works,  and  may  probably 
be  referred  to  accidents,  especially  as  we  find  that  those 
of  children  are  most  numerous.  M.  Desor,  indeed,  states 
that  not  a  single  human   skeleton   has  yet  been  found  in 

'  Die  Pflansen  der  Pfahlbauten. 

^  According  to  the  best  Hel:)re\v  scholars,  the  word  translated  "rye" 
in  Exodus  ix.  32  really  means  "  spelt." 
^  2  Sam.  xvii.  28. 


220  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

any  of  the  stations  belonging  to  the  Stone  Age  ;  and 
Dr  Keller,  in  his  fifth  report,  informs  us  that  all  the 
lake-villages  taken  together  have  not  yet  produced  more 
than  half  a  dozen.  One  mature  skull  from  Meilen  has 
been  described  by  Professor  His,  who  considers  that  it 
does  not  differ  much  from  the  present  Swiss  type. 
While  his  work  was  in  the  press.  Professor  Riltimeyer 
received  from  Colonel  Schwab  four  more  skulls,  two  of 
which  were  obtained  at  Nidau,  one  at  Sutz,  and  one  at 
Biel.  Another  skull  shown  to  me  by  Professor  Desor, 
and  found  at  Auvernier,  completes  the  number  mentioned 
by  Dr  Keller.  All  these  settlements,  however,  appear  to 
have  belonged  to  the  Bronze  Age,  nor  has  it  yet  been 
possible  certainly  to  refer  any  of  the  ancient  tumuli  found 
in  Switzerland  to  the  earlier  period. 

Passing  now  to  the  lake-habitations  belonging  to  the 
Bronze  Age,  we  find  that  they  are  less  generally  distributed 
than  those  of  the  earlier  period.  They  have  as  yet  been 
found  principally  on  the  Lakes  of  Geneva,  Luissel,  Neuf- 
chatel,  Morat,  Bienne,  and  Sempach  ;  scarcely  any  in 
eastern  Switzerland.  One  settlement  of  the  Bronze  Age 
has  been  found  on  the  Lake  of  Constance  ;  but  as  the 
question  now  stands,  pile-works  of  the  Metallic  Period 
are  almost  peculiar  to  western  and  central  Switzerland. 
The  constructions  of  the  Bronze  Age  are  more  solidly 
built,  but  do  not  otherwise  appear  to  have  differed 
materially  from  those  of  the  Stone  Age.  They  are  often, 
however,  situated  farther  from  the  land  and  in  deeper 
water,  partly  no  doubt  on  account  of  the  greater  skill  in 
working  timber,  but  partly  also,  perhaps,  because  more 
protection  was  needed  as  the  means  of  attack  were  im- 
proved. The  principal  objects  of  bronze  are  swords, 
daggers,  axes,  spear-heads,  knives,  fish-hooks,  sickles, 
pins,  rings,  and  bracelets.  The  number  of  these  articles 
which  have  been  discovered  is  already  very  great,  the 
collection  of  Colonel  Schwab  alone  containing  no  less 
than  4346  objects  of  metal.  They  are  classified  in  the 
table  in  p.  16,  which  gives  an  idea  of  the  relative 
proportions  in  which  they  occur. 


LAKE   WORSHIP  221 

Many  of  them  are  really  beautiful,  and  as  bronze  must 
have  been  at  that  early  period  of  considerable  value,  it  is 
difficult  to  understand  how  so  many  can  have  been  left 
uncared  for  and  forgotten,  along  the  shallow  margins  of 
the  Swiss  lakes.  "  II  est  evident,"  says  Professor  Desor, 
"  que  ce  ne  sont  pas  de  rebuts  qui  se  seraient  perdus, 
sans  qu'on  s'en  inquietat.  lis  ne  sont  pas  tombes  a  I'eau 
par  hasard,  non  plus  que  cette  quantite  de  vases  qui  sont 
accumules  sur  certain  points,  ni  les  jattes  a  provisions 
qu'on  retire  intactes."  On  the  whole  he  is  inclined  to 
think  that  in  some  of  these  cases  at  least  we  have  "  de 
simples  magasins  destines  aux  ustensiles  et  aux  provisions, 
et  qui  auraient  ete  detruits  par  I'incendie,  comme  semble 
I'indiquer  la  trace  du  feu  que  montrent  frequemment  les 
poutres  aussi  bien  que  les  vases  en  terre.  On  expliquerait 
ainsi  comment  il  se  fait  que  les  objets  en  bronze  sont 
presque  tous  neufs,  que  les  vases  sont  entiers  et  reunis 
sur  un  seul  point."  Colonel  Schwab,  however,  than 
whom  no  man  has  had  more  experience  in  such  matters, 
while  agreeing  that  comparatively  little  is  ever  found 
except  in  such  lake-villages  as  show  traces  of  fire,  expresses 
himself  decidedly,  and  I  think  with  reason,  against  the 
"  bazaar  "  theory. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  the  early  inhabitants  of 
Switzerland  may  have  worshipped  the  lakes,  and  that  the 
beautiful  bracelets,  etc.,  may  have  been  offerings  to  the 
gods.  It  appears  from  ancient  writers  that  among  the 
Gauls,  Germans,  and  other  nations,  many  lakes  were 
regarded  as  sacred.  According  to  Cicero,^  Justin,^  and 
Strabo,^  there  was  a  lake  near  Toulouse  in  which  the 
neighbouring  tribes  used  to  deposit  offerings  of  gold  and 
silver.  Tacitus,  Pliny,  and  Virgil  also  mention  the 
existence  of  sacred  lakes.  Even  so  late  as  the  sixth 
century,  Gregory  of  Tours  tells  us  {De  Glor.  Confes.^ 
chap,  ii.)  that  on  Mount  Helanus  there  was  a  lake  which 
was  the  object  of  popular  worship.  Every  year  the 
inhabitants  of  the  neighbourhood  brought  to  it  offerings 
of  clothes,  skins,  cheese,  cakes,  etc.     Traces  of  a  similar 

'  Dc  Nat.  Dcor.,  lib.  iii.  xxx.         -  Just..,  xxxii.  iii.         -^  Geog.,  vol.  iv. 


222  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

superstition  may  still  be  found  lingering  in  the  remote 
parts  of  Scotland  and  Ireland  ;  in  the  former  country  I 
have  myself  seen  a  sacred  spring  surrounded  by  the 
offerings  of  the  neighbouring  peasantry,  who  seemed  to 
consider  pence  and  halfpence  as  the  most  appropriate  and 
agreeable  sacrifice  to  the  Spirit  of  the  Waters.  Neither 
the  coarse,  broken  pottery,  the  castaway  fragments  of 
bones,  nor  the  traces  of  habitations,  can,  however,  be 
accounted  for  in  this  manner.^ 

The  pottery  of  the  Bronze  Period  is  more  varied  and 
more  skilfully  made  than  that  of  the  Stone  Age,  but  the 
potter's  wheel  does  not  seem  to  have  been  in  use.  Rings 
of  earthenware  are  common,  and  appear  to  have  been 
used  as  supports  for  the  round-bottomed  vases.  The 
ornaments  are  of  the  same  general  character  as  those  on 
the  objects  of  bronze.  Many  of  the  large  urns  appear 
to  have  been  used  as  store-places  for  the  grain,  etc., 
which  was  collected  during  the  summer  for  winter's  use. 
In  the  absence,  perhaps,  of  boxes  and  cupboards,  even 
ornaments  and  instruments  seem  to  have  been  kept  in 
large  jars.  Some  beautiful  bracelets  were  found  with 
several  sickles  in  a  jar  at  Cortaillod.  Pieces  of  pottery, 
distorted  by  fire,  during  the  process  of  baking,  have, 
according  to  M.  Troyon,  been  found  in  many  of  the 
lake-villages  ;  whence  he  concludes  that  the  pottery  was 
manufactured  on  the  spot. 

Colonel  Schwab  has  found  at  Nidau  more  than  twenty 
crescents  made  of  earthenware,  with  the  convex  side 
flattened,  to  serve  as  a  foot.  They  are  compressed  at 
the  sides,  sometimes  plain,  sometimes  ornamented,  from 
lo  to  12  inches  wide,  and  6  to  8  in  height,  Dr  Keller 
was  at  first  inclined  to  regard  them  as  emblems  of  moon 
worship,  but  it  is  more  probable  that  they  were  pillows.'"^ 
Though  this  seems  at  first  very  unlikely,  and  they  must, 
one  would  think,  have  been  very  uncomfortable,  still  we 
know  that  several  barbarous  races  at  the  present  day  use 

^  See  also  Wylie,  "  On  Lake-dwellings  of  the  Early  Periods,"  Archccol., 
vol.  xxxviii.  p.  1 8 1. 

-  Vogt's  Lectures  on  Man,  p.  368. 


INHABITANTS   OF   LAKE-VILLAGES     223 

wooden  pillows  or  neck-rests  of  the  same  kind,  as,  for 
instance,  the  Fijians,  who,  having  enormous  heads  of 
hair,  sacrifice  comfort  to  vanity,  and  use  a  mere  wooden 
bar  as  a  pillow.  The  very  long  bronze  pins  found  with 
these  "  crescents  "  indicate  that  during  the  Bronze  Age 
the  hair  was  worn  very  long  and  was  carefully  arranged. 

M.  Troyon  is  of  opinion  that  the  inhabitants  of 
Switzerland  during  the  Bronze  Age  were  of  a  different 
race  from  those  who  had  lived  there  during  the  earlier 
period,  and  he  agrees  with  some  of  the  Scandinavian 
archaeologists  in  regarding  them  as  the  true  "  Celts,"  and 
in  attributing  to  them  the  habit  of  burning  their  dead. 
It  would  be  very  desirable  to  have  some  statistics,  in 
order  that  we  might  appreciate  the  value  of  the  evidence 
to  be  derived  from  the  ancient  Swiss  burials.  M.  Troyon 
relies  on  the  fact  that  many  of  the  lake-villages  were 
destroyed  by  fire,  and  that  when,  as  appears  to  have  been 
the  case  at  several  places,  they  were  rebuilt  during  the 
Bronze  Age,  this  was  done,  not  exactly  on  the  same  spot, 
but  farther  away  from  the  bank.  Dr  Keller,  on  the  other 
hand,  considers  that  the  primitive  population  did  not 
differ,  either  in  disposition  {Anlage)^  mode  of  life,  or 
industry,  from  that  which  was  acquainted  with  the  use  of 
bronze  ;  and  that  the  whole  phenomena  of  the  lake- 
villages,  from  their  commencement  to  their  conclusion, 
indicate  clearly  a  gradual  and  peaceable  development. 
The  number  of  instances  in  which  lake-villages  had 
been  destroyed  by  fire  has  been,  he  considers,  exaggerated. 
Of  the  settlements  on  the  Lakes  of  Bienne  and  Neufchatel, 
amounting  in  all  to  more  than  seventy,  only  a  quarter 
have,  according  to  Colonel  Schwab,  shown  any  traces  of 
combustion  ;  a  proportion  which  is,  perhaps,  not  greater 
than  might  have  been  expected,  remembering  that  the 
huts  were  built  of  wood,  and  in  all  probability  covered 
by  thatch.  Moreover,  if  these  conflagrations  had  resulted 
from  the  attacks  of  enemies,  we  ought  surely  to  have 
found  numerous  remains  of  the  slain,  whereas  all  the 
lake-villages  together  have  not  as  yet  supplied  us  with 
the  remains  of  more  than  half  a  dozen  human  skeletons. 


224  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

It  must,  I  think,  be  confessed  that  the  arguments  used 
by  M.  Troyon  fail  to  prove  that  the  introduction  of 
bronze  was  accompanied  by  an  entire  change  of  population. 
However  this  may  be,  I  have  in  a  previous  chapter 
(ch.  iii.)  given  my  reasons  for  believing  that  the  use  of 
bronze  in  Europe  was  introduced  by  a  race  coming  from 
the  East. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  Bronze  Age  the  lake-villages 
appear  to  have  gradually  become  less  numerous.  During 
the  Stone  Age  they  were  spread  over  the  whole  country. 
Bronze  Age  settlements  are  very  rare  in  the  east  of 
Switzerland,  and  the  Iron  Age  is  represented  only  on  the 
Lakes  of  Bienne  and  Neufchatel.  In  these  settlements 
not  only  has  a  new  substance  made  its  appearance,  but 
the  forms  of  the  implements  are  different.  We  have, 
indeed,  copies  of  the  bronze  axes  made  in  iron,  just  as 
we  found  before  that  some  of  the  earlier  bronze  celts 
resembled  the  stone  axes  in  form  ;  but  these  are  excep- 
tional cases.  The  swords  have  larger  handles,  and  are 
more  richly  ornamented  ;  the  knives  have  straight  edges  ; 
the  sickles  are  larger  ;  the  pottery  is  more  skilfully  made, 
and  is  of  the  kind  generally  known  as  Roman  ;  coins 
occur,  the  personal  ornaments  are  more  varied,  and  glass 
for  the  first  time  makes  its  appearance.  Bronze  also  is 
present  ;  but  in  the  first  place  it  is  no  longer  used  for 
weapons,  and  in  the  second  it  is  worked  in  a  different 
manner,  being  hammered,^  while,  as  already  mentioned, 
all  the  objects  of  the  Bronze  Age  are  cast. 

A  field  of  battle  at  Tiefenau,  near  Berne  (see  p.  lo),  is 
remarkable  for  the  great  number  of  iron  weapons  and 
implements  which  have  been  found  on  it.  Pieces  of 
chariots,  about  a  hundred  swords,  fragments  of  coat  of 
mail,  lance-heads,  rings,  fibulae,  ornaments,  utensils, 
pieces  of  pottery  and  of  glass,  accompanied  by  more  than 
thirty  Gaulish  and  Massaliote  coins  of  a  date  anterior  to 
our  era,  enable  us  to  refer  this  battle-field  to  the  Roman 
period.  About  forty  Roman  coins  have  also  been  found 
at  the  small  island  on  the  Lake  of  Bienne. 

^  See  Desor,  Les  Constructions  lacustres  du  Lac  dc  Neuc/uitel,  p.  27. 


ANTIQUITY   OF   LAKE-VILLAGES       225 

After  this  period  we  find  no  more  evidences  of  lake- 
habitations  on  a  large  scale.  Here  and  there,  indeed,  a 
few  fishermen  may  have  lingered  on  the  half-destroyed 
platforms,  but  the  wants  and  habits  of  the  people  had 
changed,  and  the  age  of  the  Swiss  pile-works  was  at  an 
end. 

We  have,  however,  traced  them  through  the  Ages  of 
Stone  and  Bronze  down  to  the  beginning  of  the  Iron 
Period.  We  have  seen  evidences  of  a  gradual  progress 
in  civilization,  and  improvement  in  the  arts,  an  increase  in 
the  number  of  domestic  animals,  and  proofs  at  last  of  the 
existence  of  an  extended  commerce.  We  found  the 
country  inhabited  only  by  rude  savages,  and  we  leave  it 
the  seat  of  a  powerful  nation.  Changes  so  important  as 
these  are  not  effected  in  a  day  ;  the  progress  of  the 
human  mind  is  but  slow  ;  and  the  gradual  additions  to 
human  knowledge  and  power,  like  the  rings  in  trees, 
enable  us  to  form  some  idea  how  distant  must  be  the 
date  of  their  commencement.  So  varied,  however,  are 
the  conditions  of  the  human  mind,  so  much  are  all 
nations  affected  by  the  influence  of  others,  that  when  we 
attempt  to  express  our  impressions,  so  to  say,  in  terms  of 
years,  we  are  baffled  by  the  complexity  of  the  problem. 

Some  attempts  have,  indeed,  been  made  to  obtain  a 
more  definite  chronology,  and  they  have  been  alluded  to 
in  an  earlier  chapter.  Though  we  must  not  conceal  from 
ourselves  the  imperfection  of  the  archaeological  record, 
still  we  need  not  despair  of  eventually  obtaining  some 
approximate  chronology.  Our  knowledge  of  primitive 
antiquity  has  made  an  enormous  stride  in  the  last  ten 
years,  and  we  may  fairly  look  forward  with  hope  to  the 
future. 

The  Swiss  archaeologists  are  continuing  their  labours, 
and  they  may  rest  assured  that  we  in  England  watch  with 
interest  the  result  of  their  investigations.  Few  things, 
indeed,  can  be  more  interesting  than  the  spectacle  of  an 
ancient  and  long-forgotten  people  thus  rising,  as  it  were, 
from  the  waters  of  oblivion,  to  take  that  place  which 
properly  belongs  to  it  in  the  history  of  the  human  race. 

15 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE    DANISH     KJOKKENMODDINGS    OR    SHELL-MOUNDS 

Denmark  occupies  a  larger  space  in  the  history  than  on 
the  map  of  Europe  ;  the  nation  is  greater  than  the 
country.  With  the  growth  of  physical  power  in  sur- 
rounding populations,  she  has  lost  much  of  her  influence 
in  political  councils,  and  has  been  recently  deprived  of  a 
great  part  of  her  ancient  possessions  ;  but  the  Danes  of 
to-day  are  no  unworthy  representatives  of  their  ancestors. 
Many  a  larger  nation  might  envy  them  the  position  they 
hold  in  science  and  art,  and  few  have  contributed  more 
to  the  progress  of  human  knowledge.  Copenhagen  may 
well  be  proud  both  of  her  museums  and  of  her  professors, 
and  I  would  especially  point  to  the  celebrated  Museum 
of  Northern  Antiquities,  as  being  most  characteristic  and 
unique. 

For  the  formation  of  such  a  collection  Denmark  offers 
great  opportunities.  The  whole  country  appears  to  have 
been,  at  one  time,  thickly  studded  with  tumuli  ;  where 
the  land  has  not  been  brought  into  cultivation,  many  of 
them  are  often  in  sight  at  once,  and  even  in  the  more 
fertile  and  thickly  populated  parts,  the  plough  is  often 
diverted  from  its  course  by  one  of  these  ancient  burial- 
places.  Fortunately,  the  stones  of  which  they  are  con- 
structed are  so  large  and  so  hard,  that  their  destruction 
and  removal  is  a  laborious  and  expensive  undertaking. 
While,  however,  on  the  one  hand,  land  grows  gradually 
more  valuable,  and  the  stones  themselves  are  more  and 
more  coveted  for  building  or  other  purposes,  on  the 
other,  the  conservative  traditions,  the  feeling  of  super- 
stitious   reverence    for    the    dead,    which    have    so    long 

226 


TUMULI    AND   KjOKKENMODDlNGS     227 

protected  them  from  desecration,  is  gradually  becoming 
weaker  ;  and  it  is  estimated  that  not  a  day  passes  without 
witnessing  the  destruction  of  one  or  more  of  these  tumuli, 
and  the  loss  of  some,  perhaps  almost  irrecoverable,  link 
in  the  history  of  the  human  race. 

Many  of  these  barrows,  indeed,  contain  in  themselves 
a  small  collection  of  antiquities,  and  the  whole  country 
may  even  be  considered  as  a  museum  on  a  great  scale. 
The  peat  bogs,  which  occupy  so  large  an  area,  may  almost 
be  said  to  swarm  with  antiquities,  and  Professor  Steen- 
strup  estimates  that,  on  an  average,  every  column  of  peat 
three  feet  square  contains  some  specimen  of  ancient  work- 
manship. All  these  advantages  and  opportunities,  how- 
ever, might  have  been  thrown  away  but  for  the  genius 
and  perseverance  of  Professor  Thomsen,  who  may  fairly 
be  said  to  have  created  the  Museum  over  which  he  so 
long  and  so  worthily  presided. 

In  addition  to  the  objects  collected  from  the  tumuli 
and  the  peat  bogs,  and  to  those  which  have  been  found 
from  time  to  time  scattered  at  random  in  the  soil,  the 
Museum  of  Northern  Antiquities  contains  an  immense 
collection  of  specimens  from  some  very  interesting  shell- 
mounds,  which  are  known  in  Denmark  under  the  name 
of  "  KjokkenmOddings,"  and  were  long  supposed  to  be 
raised  beaches,  like  those  which  are  found  at  so  many 
points  along  our  own  shores.  True  raised  beaches, 
however,  necessarily  contain  a  variety  of  species  ;  the 
individuals  are  of  different  ages,  and  the  shells  are,  of 
course,  mixed  with  a  considerable  quantity  of  sand  and 
gravel.  But  it  was  observed,  in  the  first  instance,  I 
believe,  by  Professor  Steenstrup,  that  in  these  supposed 
beaches,  the  shells  belonged  entirely  to  full-grown,  or 
to  nearly  full-grown  individuals  ;  that  they  consisted 
of  four  species  which  do  not  live  together,  nor  require 
the  same  conditions,  and  would  not,  therefore,  be  found 
together  alone  in  a  natural  deposit  ;  and,  thirdly,  that 
the  stratum  contained  scarcely  any  gravel,  but  consisted 
almost  entirely  of  shells. 

The  discovery  of  rude  flint  implements,  and  of  bones 


228  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

still  bearing  the  marks  of  knives,  confirmed  the  supposi- 
tion that  these  beds  were  not  natural  formations,  and  it 
subsequently  became  evident  that  they  were,  in  fact,  the 
sites  of  ancient  villages  ;  the  primitive  population  having 
lived  on  the  shore  and  fed  principally  on  shell-fish,  but 
partly  also  on  the  proceeds  of  the  chase.  In  many  places 
hearths  were  discovered  consisting  of  flat  stones,  arranged 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  form  small  platforms,  and  bearing 
all  the  marks  of  fire.  The  shells  and  bones  not  available 
for  food  gradually  accumulated  round  the  tents  and  huts, 
until  they  formed  deposits  generally  from  3  to  5  feet,  but 
sometimes  as  much  as  10  feet  in  thickness,  and  in  some 
cases  more  than  300  yards  in  length,  with  a  breadth  of  from 
100  to  200  feet.  The  name  Kjokkenmodding,  applied  to 
these  mounds,  is  derived  from  Kj'okken^  "  kitchen,"  and 
modding  (corresponding  to  our  local  word  "  midding  "),  a 
"  refuse  heap,"  and  it  was,  of  course,  evident  that  a  careful 
examination  of  these  accumulations  would  throw  much 
light  on  the  manners  and  civilization  of  the  then  population. 

Under  these  circumstances  a  Committee  was  formed, 
consisting  of  Professor  Steenstrup,  the  celebrated  author 
of  the  treatise  On  the  Alternation  of  Generations^  Professor 
Forchhammer,  the  father  of  Danish  geology,  and  Pro- 
fessor Worsaae,  the  well-known  archaeologist  ;  a  happy 
combination,  promising  the  best  results  to  biology,  geology, 
and  archaeology.  Much  was  naturally  expected  from 
the  labours  of  such  a  triumvirate,  and  the  most  sanguine 
hopes  have  been  fulfilled.  More  than  fifty  of  the  deposits 
have  been  carefully  examined,  many  thousand  specimens 
have  been  collected,  ticketed,  and  deposited  in  the 
Museum  at  Copenhagen,  and  the  general  results  have 
been  embodied  in  six  Reports,  presented  to  the  Academy 
of  Sciences  at  Copenhagen.^ 

It  is  from  these  Reports,  and  from  the  excellent 
Memoir  by  M.  Morlot,  that  the  following  information 
has  principally  been  derived.     Being,  however,  anxious  to 

'  Untenoi^dscr  i  geoloi^isk-antiquarisk  Reining,  ;if  G.  Forchhammer, 
J.  Steenstrup,  og  J.  Worsaae.  M.  Morlot  also  has  published  an  excellent 
abstract  of  the  Reports  in  the  Mem.  de  la  Socicte  Vaudoise,  t.  vi.,  i860. 


DESCRIPTION    OF   SHELL-MOUNDS     229 

present  to  my  readers  a  complete  and  accurate  account 
of  the  interesting  shell-mounds,  I  have  more  than  once 
visited  Denmark  ;  first  in  1861,  with  Professor  Busk, 
and  again  in  the  summer  of  1863.  On  both  these 
occasions,  through  the  kindness  of  Professor  Thomsen 
and  Herr  K.  Herbst,  every  facility  has  been  afforded  me 
of  examining  the  large  collections  made  in  different 
Kj5kkenm0ddings,  in  addition  to  which  I  had  the  great 
advantage  of  visiting  several  of  the  shell-mounds  under 
the  guidance  of  Professor  Steenstrup  himself — especially 
one  at  Havelse  in  1861,  and  those  at  Meilgaard  and 
Fannerup  in   1863. 

Mr  Busk  and  I  also  visited  by  ourselves  one  at  Bilidt, 
on  the  Isefjord,  close  to  Fredericksund  ;  but  this  is  one 
of  the  places  at  which  it  would  seem  that  the  inhabitants 
cooked  their  dinners  actually  on  the  shore  itself,  so  that 
the  shells  and  bones  are  much  mixed  up  with  sand  and 
gravel  ;  and  we  were  not  very  successful  in  our  search  for 
flint  implements.  At  Havelse,  on  the  contrary,  the 
settlement  was  on  rather  higher  ground,  and,  though 
close  to  the  shore,  beyond  the  reach  of  the  waves  ;  the 
shells  and  bones  are,  therefore,  almost  unmixed  with 
extraneous  substances.  At  this  place  the  Kjokken- 
mOdding  is  of  small  extent,  and  is  in  the  form  of  an 
irregular  ring,  enclosing  a  space  on  which  the  ancient 
dwelling  or  dwellings  probably  stood.  In  other  cases, 
where  the  deposit  is  of  greater  extent,  as,  for  instance,  in 
the  celebrated  shell-mound  at  Meilgaard,  the  surface  is 
undulating,  the  greater  thickness  of  the  shelly  stratum  in 
some  places  apparently  indicating  the  arrangement  of  the 
dwellings.  When  the  shell-mound  at  Havelse  was 
previously  visited  by  Professor  Steenstrup,  the  shells 
were  being  removed  to  serve  as  manure,  and  the  mound, 
presenting  a  perpendicular  section,  was  in  a  very  favour- 
able condition  for  examination.  The  small  pits  thus 
formed  had,  however,  been  filled  in,  so  that  we  were 
obliged  to  make  a  fresh  excavation.  In  two  or  three  hours 
we  obtained  about  a  hundred  fragments  of  bone,  many 
rude  flakes,  slingstones,  and  flint  fragments,  together  with 


230  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

nine  rude  axes  of  the  ordinary  "  shell-mound  "  type  (figs. 
117-119). 

Our  visit  to  Meilgaard  in  1863  was  even  more  success- 
ful. This,  which  is  one  of  the  largest  and  most  interesting 
shell-mounds  hitherto  discovered,  is  situated  not  far  from 
the  sea-coast,  near  Grenaa  in  North-East  Jutland,  in  a 
beautiful  beech-forest  called  "Aigt,"  or  "  Aglskov,"  on 
the  property  of  M.  Olsen,  who,  with  a  praiseworthy 
devotion  to  science,  has  given  orders  that  the  Kjokken- 
m5dding  should  not  be  destroyed,  although  the  materials 
of  which  it  consists  are  well  adapted  for  the  improvement 
of  the  soil,  and  for  other  purposes,  to  which,  indeed,  they 
had  already  been  in  part  applied  before  the  true  nature 
of  the  deposit  was  discovered.  Arriving  at  his  house, 
without  invitation  or  notice,  we  were  received  by  M. 
Olsen  and  his  family  with  kindness  and  hospitality. 
M.  Olsen  immediately  sent  two  workmen  to  clear  away 
the  rubbish  which  had  fallen  in  since  the  last  archaeo- 
logical visit,  so  that  when  we  reached  the  spot  we  found  a 
fresh  wall  of  the  shell-mound  ready  for  examination.  In 
the  middle,  this  Kjokkenmodding  has  a  thickness  of 
about  ten  feet,  from  which,  however,  it  slopes  away  in 
all  directions  ;  round  the  principal  mound  are  several 
smaller  ones,  of  the  same  nature.  Over  the  shells  a  thin 
layer  of  mould  has  formed  itself,  on  which  trees  grow. 
A  good  section  of  such  a  Kjokkenmodding  can  hardly 
fail  to  strike  with  astonishment  anyone  who  sees  it  for 
the  first  time,  and  it  is  difficult  to  convey  in  words  an 
exact  idea  of  the  appearance  which  it  presents.  The 
whole  thickness  consists  of  shells,  oysters  being  at 
Meilgaard  by  far  the  most  numerous,  with  here  and  there 
a  few  bones,  and  still  more  rarely  stone  implements  or 
fragments  of  pottery.  Excepting  just  at  the  top  and 
bottom,  the  mass  is  quite  unmixed  with  sand  and  gravel  ; 
and,  in  fact,  contains  nothing  but  what  has  been  in  some 
way  or  other  subservient  to  the  use  of  man.  The  only 
exceptions  which  I  could  see  were  a  few,  very  few,  rough 
flint  pebbles,  which  were  probably  dredged  up  with  the 
oysters.       While    we    were    in    this    neighbourhood,    we 


SHELL-MOUNDS   IN    SCOTLAND         231 

visited  another  KjOkkenmOdding  at  Fannerup  on  the 
Kolindsund,  which  was  even  in  historical  times  an  arm  of 
the  sea,  but  is  now  a  fresh-water  lake.  Other 
similar  deposits  have  been  discovered  at  various 
points  along  the  Danish  coast.  Generally  it  is 
evident  that  deposits  of  this  nature  were  scattered 
here  and  there  over  the  whole  shore,  but  that 
they  were  never  formed  inland.  The  whole 
country  was  more  intersected  by  fjords  during 
the  Stone  Period  even  than  it  is  now.  Under 
these  circumstances  it  is  evident  that  a  nation 
which  subsisted  principally  on  marine  mollusca 
would  never  form  any  large  inland  settlements. 
In  some  instances,  indeed,  KJ5kkenm5ddings 
have  been  found  as  far  as  eight  miles  from  the 
present  coast,  but  in  these  cases  there  is  good 
reason  for  supposing  that  the  land  has  encroached 
on  the  sea.  On  the  other  hand,  in  those  parts 
where  KjOkkenmOddings  do  not  occur,  their 
absence  is  no  doubt  occasioned  by  the  waves 
having  to  a  certain  extent  eaten  away  the  shore  ; 
an  explanation  which  accounts  for  their  being 
so  much  more  frequent  on  the  borders  of  the 
inland  fjords  than  on  the  coast  itself  ;  and  which 
seems  to  deprive  us  of  all  hope  of  finding  any 
similar  remains  on  our  eastern  and  south-eastern 
shores.  Shell-mounds,  although  probably  be- 
longing to  a  later  date,  have,  however,  actually 
been  found  on  our  coasts.  They  were  observed 
by  Dr  Gordon,  of  Birnie,  on  the  shores  of  the  | 

Moray  Firth.  I  have  had  the  advantage  of  f,g.  194  — 
visiting  these  shell-mounds  with  him.  The  Bronze 
largest  of  the  Scotch  Kjokkenmoddings  is  on  luaiske. 
Loch  Spynie.  We  did  not  find  any  imple- 
ments or  pottery  in  it,  although  we  searched  for  several 
hours  ;  but  a  labourer,  who  had  been  employed  in  carting 
it  away  for  manure,  had  previously  found  some  frag- 
ments of  rude  pottery  and  a  bronze  pin  (fig.  194). 
Loch   Spynie  has  been   partially  drained,  and  is  shut  out 


232  PREHISTORIC  TIMES 

from  the  sea  by  a  great  accumulation  of  shingle,  so  that 
the  water  is  now  perfectly  fresh.  From  ancient  records 
it  appears  that  the  shingle  barrier  was  probably  completed 
and  the  lake  shut  out  from  the  sea  in  the  thirteenth  and 
fourteenth  centuries.  On  the  other  hand,  I  have  sub- 
mitted the  bronze  pin  figured  here  to  Mr  Franks,  who 
gives  it  as  his  opinion  that  it  is  probably  not  older  than 
800  or  900  A.D.  If,  therefore,  it  really  belongs  to  the 
shell-mound,  and  there  seems  no  reason  to  doubt  the 
statement  of  the  man  who  found  it,  we  thus  get  an 
approximate  date  for  the  accumulation  of  the  mound 
itself.  Mr  Pengelly  and  Mr  Spence  Bate  have  recently 
described  some  shell-mounds  in  Cornwall  and  Devon- 
shire, and  similar  shell-mounds  have  also  been  found 
at  various  places  on  the  Irish  coast.  At  St  Valery, 
close  to  the  mouth  of  the  Somme,  Sir  John  Evans, 
Mr  Prestwich,  and  I  found  a  large  accumulation  of 
shells,  from  which  I  obtained  several  flint  flakes,  and 
some  pieces  of  rude  pottery.  Similar  remains  have 
been  observed  in  various  parts  of  the  world,  as,  for 
instance,  in  Australia  by  Dampier,^  in  Tierra  del  Fuego 
by  Mr  Darwin,^  in  the  Malay  Peninsula  by  Mr  Earle,^ 
in  the  Andaman  Islands  by  Dr  Stolickza,*  in  Japan,^  in 
both  North  ^  and  South  America,'^  in  Tasmania,  and  in 
South  Africa. 

The  fact  that  the  majority  of  the  Danish  shell-mounds 
are  found  at  a  height  of  only  a  few  feet  above  the  sea 
appears  to  prove  that  there  has  been  no  considerable 
subsidence  of  the  land  since  their  formation,  while,  on 
the  other  hand,  it  clearly  shows  that  there  can  have  been 
no  elevation.  In  certain  cases,  however,  where  the  shore 
is  steep,  they  have  been  found  at  a  considerable  height. 
It  might  indeed  be  supposed  that  where,  as  at  Bilidt,  the 

^  Pinkerton's  Travels^  vol.  ii.  p.  473.  ^  Journal,  p.  234. 

^  Ethnological  Soc.  Trans.,  New  Series,  vol.  ii.  p.  119. 
■*  Proc.  As.  Soc.  Bengal,  Jan.  1870. 
°  Morse,  Mem.  of  Univ.  of  Tokio,  vol.  i. 

"  H.  Wyman,  The  American   Naturalist,  vol.  ii.,  Nos.  8,  9,  and  11  ; 
Foster,  Prehistoric  Paces  of  the  United  States,  p.  1 56. 

"  Brett's  Indian  Tribes  of  Guiana  ;  A.gSLSs\z,  Journey  in  Brazil. 


FAUNA    IN   THE   SHELL-MOUNDS      233 

materials  of  the  KjOkkenmOdding  were  rudely  inter- 
stratified  with  sand  and  gravel,  the  land  must  have  sunk  ; 
but  if  for  any  length  of  time  such  a  deposit  was  subjected 
to  the  action  of  the  waves,  all  traces  of  it  would  be 
obliterated,  and  it  is,  therefore,  probable  that  an  explana- 
tion is  rather  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  the  action  of 
waves  and  storms  may  have  been  greater  at  that  time 
than  it  is  now.  At  present  the  tides  only  affect  the 
Kattegat  to  the  extent  of  about  a  foot  and  a  half,  and  the 
configuration  of  the  land  protects  it  very  much  from  the 
action  of  the  winds.  On  the  other  hand,  the  tides  on  the 
west  coast  of  Jutland  rise  about  nine  feet,  and  the  winds 
have  been  known  to  produce  differences  of  level  amounting 
to  twenty-nine  feet  ;  and  as  we  know  that  Jutland  was 
anciently  an  archipelago,  and  the  Baltic  was  more  open  to 
the  German  Ocean  than  it  is  now,  we  can  easily  under- 
stand that  the  fluctuations  of  level  may  have  been  greater, 
and  we  can  thus  explain  how  the  waves  may  have  risen 
over  the  Kj5kkenm5dding  at  Bilidt  (which  is  after  all  not 
much  more  than  ten  feet  above  the  water),  without 
resorting  to  the  hypothesis  of  a  subsidence  and  subsequent 
elevation  of  the  coast. 

In  the  lake-habitations  of  the  Stone  Age  in  Switzerland, 
grains  of  wheat  and  barley,  and  even  pieces  of  bread,  or 
rather  biscuit,  have  been  found.  It  does  not,  however, 
appear  that  the  men  of  the  KjokkenmOddings  had  any 
knowledge  of  agriculture,  no  traces  of  grain  of  any  sort 
having  been  hitherto  discovered.  The  only  vegetable 
remains  found  in  them  have  been  burnt  pieces  of  wood, 
and  some  charred  substance,  referred  by  M.  Forchhammer 
to  the  Zostera  marina^  a  sea-plant,  which  was,  perhaps,  used 
in  the  production  of  salt. 

The  four  species  which  are  the  most  abundant  in  the 
shell-mounds  are  : — 

The  oyster  {Ostrea  edulis^  L.), 
The  cockle  {Cardium  edule^  L.), 
The  mussel  {Mytilus  edulis^  L.),  and 
The  periwinkle  {Littorina  littorea^  L.), 


234  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

all  four  of  which  are  still  used  as  food  for  man.     Other 
species  occur  more  rarely,  namely, — 

Nassa  reticulata^  L. 
Buccinum  undatum^  L. 
Venus  pullastra,  Mont. 
Helix  nemoralis^  Milll. 
Venus  aurea^  Gm. 
Trigonella  plana^  Da.  C. 
Littorina  ohtusata^  L. 
Helix  strigella^  Mall.,  and 
Carocolla  lapicida^  L. 

It  is  remarkable  that  the  specimens  of  the  first  seven 
species  are  well  developed,  and  decidedly  larger  than  any 
now  found  in  the  neighbourhood.  This  is  especially  the 
case  with  the  Cardium  edule  and  Littorina  littorea^  while 
the  oyster  has  entirely  disappeared,  and  even  in  the 
Kattegat  itself  occurs  only  in  a  few  places  ;  a  result  which 
may,  perhaps,  he  partly  owing  to  the  quantities  caught 
by  fishermen.  Some  oysters  were,  however,  still  living 
in  the  Isefjord  at  the  beginning  of  this  century,  and  their 
destruction  cannot  be  altogether  ascribed  to  the  fishermen, 
as  great  numbers  of  dead  shells  are  still  present  ;  but  in 
this  case  it  is  attributed  to  the  abundance  of  starfishes, 
which  are  very  destructive  to  oysters.  On  the  whole, 
their  disappearance,  especially  when  taken  in  connection 
with  the  dwarf  size  of  the  other  species,  is  evidently 
attributable  in  a  great  measure  to  the  smaller  proportion 
of  salt  in  the  water. 

Of  Crustacea,  only  a  few  fragments  of  crabs  have 
hitherto  been  found.  The  remains  of  vertebrata  are  very 
numerous  and  extremely  interesting.  In  order  to  form 
an  idea  of  the  number  of  bones,  and  of  the  relative  pro- 
portions belonging  to  different  animals,  Professor  Steen- 
strup  dug  out  from  three  different  parts  of  the  shell-mound 
at  Havelse,  square  pillars  with  sides  three  feet  in  length, 
and  carefully  collected  the  bones  therein  contained.  In 
the  first  pillar  he  found  175  bones  of  mammals  and  1^^ 
of  birds  ;  in   the  second  pillar  he  found  121  of  mammals 


MAMMALS,   BIRDS,   FISHES  235 

and  9  of  birds  ;  in  the  third,  309  of  mammals  and  10  of 
birds.  The  pillars,  however,  were  not  exactly  comparable, 
because  their  cubic  contents  depended  on  the  thickness 
of  the  shell-mound  at  the  place  where  they  were  taken, 
and  varied  between  17  and  20  cubic  feet.  On  the  whole, 
Professor  Steenstrup  estimates  that  there  were  from  10 
to  12  bones  in  each  cubic  foot.  It  will  be  seen,  there- 
fore, that  the  number  of  bones  is  very  great.  Indeed, 
from  the  mound  at  Havelse  alone  the  Committee  obtained 
in  one  summer  3500  bones  of  mammals  and  more  than 
200  of  birds,  besides  many  hundred  of  fishes,  which  latter, 
indeed,  are  almost  innumerable.  The  most  common 
species  are — 

Clupea  harengus^  L.  (the  herring), 
Gadus  callariaSy  L.  (the  dorse), 
Pleuronectes  limanda^  L.  (the  dab),  and 
Murana  anguilla^  L.  (the  eel). 

The  remains  of  birds  are  highly  interesting  and 
instructive.  The  domestic  fowl  {Gallus  domestkus)  is 
entirely  absent.  The  two  domestic  swallows  of  Denmark 
{Hirundo  rustica  and  H.  urbica)^  the  sparrow,  and  the  stork, 
are  also  missing.  On  the  other  hand,  fine  specimens  of 
the  capercailzie  {Tetrao  urogallus)^  which  feeds  principally 
on  the  buds  of  the  pine,  show  that,  as  we  know  already 
from  the  remains  found  in  the  peat,  the  country  was  at 
one  time  covered  with  pine  forests.  Aquatic  birds,  how- 
ever, are  the  most  frequent,  especially  several  species  of 
ducks  and  geese.  The  wild  swan  (Cygnus  musicus)^  which 
only  visits  Denmark  in  winter,  is  also  frequently  found  ; 
but  perhaps  the  most  interesting  of  the  birds  whose 
remains  have  been  identified,  is  the  Great  Auk  (^Alca 
impennis,  L.),  a  species  which  is  now  almost,  if  not 
altogether,  extinct. 

Of  mammalia,  by  far  the  most  common  are — 

The  stag  {Cervus  elephus^  L.), 

The  roe-deer  {Cervus  capreolus^  L.),  and 

The  wild  boar  [Sus  scrofa^  L.). 


236  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

Indeed,  Professor  Steenstrup  estimates  that  these  three 
species  form  ninety-seven  per  cent,  of  the  whole  ;  the 
others  are — 

The  urus  (Bos  urusy  L.) 

The  dog  {Canis  familiariSy  L.) 

The  fox  [Canis  vulpes^  L.) 

The  wolf  [Canis  lupus,  L.) 

The  marten  (Martes  sp.) 

The  otter  [Lutra  vulgaris,  Exl.) 

The  porpoise  (Delphinus  phoc^ena,  L.) 

The  seal  [Phoca  sp.) 

The    water-rat    [Hypudaus    amphibius,   L,,    and 

Hypudaus  agrestis,  L.) 
The  beaver  {Castor fiber,  L.) 
The  lynx  {I'elis  lynx,  L.) 
The  wild  cat  {Felis  catus,  L.) 
The  hedgehog  {Erinaceus  europ^us,  L.) 
The  bear  {Ursus  arctos,  L.) 
The  mouse  (Mus  flavicollis,  Mel.). 

There  are  also  traces  of  a  smaller  species  of  ox.  The 
Lithuanian  aurochs  [Bison  europ^eus)  has  been  found, 
though  rarely,  in  the  peat  bogs,  but  not  yet  in  the 
Kjokkenmoddings.  The  musk  ox  (Ovibus  moschatus) 
and  the  domestic  ox  [Bos  taurus),  as  well  as  the  reindeer, 
the  elk,  the  hare,  the  sheep,  and  the  domestic  hog,  are 
all  absent.^  ' 

Professor  Steenstrup  does  not  agree  with  Professor 
Riltimeyer  that  the  domestic  hog  of  ancient  Europe  was 
directly  derived  from  the  wild  boar,  but  rather  that  it 
was  introduced  from  the  east  ;  and  the  skulls  which  he 
showed  me  in  support  of  this  belief  certainly  exhibited 
very  great  differences  between  the  two  races.  The  sheep, 
the  horse,  and  the  reindeer  are  entirely  absent  ;  the 
domestic  cat  was  not  known  in  Europe  until  about  the 

^  It  is  a  curious  fact  that,  as  Professor  Steenstrup  informs  me,  the  bones 
from  the  Kjokkenmoddings  of  Jutland  indicate,  as  a  general  rule,  larger 
and  more  powerful  animals  than  those  of  the  islands. 


PREVALENCE   OF   CERTAIN   BONES    237 

ninth  century  ;  and  the  bones  of  the  urus  are  probably 
those  of  wild  specimens  ;  so  that  the  dog  ^  appears  to  have 
been  the  only  domestic  animal  of  the  period  ;  and  though 
it  may  fairly  be  asked  whether  the  bones  may  not  have 
belonged  to  a  race  of  wild  dogs,  the  question  admits  of 
a  satisfactory  answer. 

Among  the  remains  of  birds,  the  long  bones,  which 
form  about  one-fifth  of  the  skeleton,  are,  in  the  Kjokken- 
moddings,  about  twenty  times  as  numerous  as  the  others, 
and  are  almost  always  imperfect,  the  shaft  only  remaining. 
In  the  same  manner  it  would  be  impossible  to  reconstruct 
a  perfect  skeleton  of  the  quadrupeds,  certain  bones  and 
parts  of  bones  being  always  absent.  In  the  case  of  the 
ox,  for  instance,  the  missing  parts  are  the  heads  of  the 
long  bones  (though  while  the  shaft  only  of  the  femur  is 
found,  in  the  humerus  one  end  is  generally  perfect),  the 
backbone  except  the  first  two  vertebrae,  the  spinous 
processes,  and  often  the  ribs,  and  the  bones  of  the  skull 
except  the  lower  jaw  and  the  portion  round  the  eyes.  It 
occurred  to  Professor  Steenstrup  that  these  curious  results 
might,  perhaps,  be  referred  to  dogs  ;  and,  on  trying  the 
experiment,  he  ascertained  that  the  bones  which  are 
absent  from  the  Kjokkenmoddings  are  precisely  those 
which  dogs  eat,  and  those  which  are  present  are  the  parts 
which  are  hard  and  solid  and  do  not  contain  much 
nourishment.  Professor  Steenstrup  has  since  published 
a  diagram  of  a  skeleton,  tinted  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
show  at  a  glance  which  of  the  bones  occur  in  the  Kjok- 
kenmoddings,  and  points  out  that  it  coincides  exactly 
with  one  given  by  M.  Flourens  to  illustrate  those  portions 
of  the  skeleton  which  are  first  formed.  Although  a 
glance  at  the  longitudinal  section  of  a  long  bone,  as,  for 
instance,  of  a  femur,  and  a  comparison  of  the  open 
cancellated  tissue  of  the  two  ends  with  the  solid,  close 
texture  of  the  shaft,  at  once  justifies  and  accounts  for 
the  selection   made  by  the  dogs,  it  is  interesting  thus  to 

^  From  the  marks  of  knives  on  the  bones,  it  seems  evident  that 
the  dog  was  then,  as  it  is  still  among  several  savage  tribes,  an  article 
of  food. 


238  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

ascertain  that  their  predilections  were  the  same  in 
primaeval  times  as  at  present.  Moreover,  we  may  in 
this  manner  explain  the  prevalence  of  some  bones  in 
fossil  strata.  I  have  already  mentioned  that  of  the  skull  ; 
the  hard  parts  round  the  eye  and  the  lower  jaw  are  the 
only  parts  left  ;  now  the  preponderance  of  lower  jaws 
in  a  fossil  state  is  well  known. 

Dr  Falconer  indeed  has  pointed  out  "  that  in  the 
smaller  mammalia,  unless  the  bone  be  complete,  and 
supposing  it  to  be  a  long  bone,  with  both  its  articular 
surfaces  perfect,  it  is  almost  hopeless,  or,  at  any  rate,  very 
discouraging,  to  attempt  to  make  out  the  creature  that 
yielded  it  ;  whereas  the  smallest  fragment  of  a  jaw,  with 
a  minute  tooth  in  it,  speaks  volumes  of  evidence  at  the 
first  glance."  "  This,"  he  suggests,  "  is  one  great  reason 
why  we  hear  so  much  of  jaw  remains,  and  so  little  of 
other  bones."  No  doubt  it  is  so  ;  but  these  observa- 
tions, made  by  Professor  Steenstrup,  afford  a  further 
explanation  of  the  fact,  and  it  is  to  be  regretted  that 
the  parts  of  the  long  bones  which  are  most  important 
to  the  palaeontologist  are  also  those  which  are  preferred 
by  beasts  of  prey. 

In  every  case  the  bones  which  contained  marrow  are 
split  open  in  the  manner  best  adapted  for  its  extraction  ; 
this  peculiarity,  which  is  in  itself  satisfactory  proof  of  the 
presence  of  man,  has  not  yet  been  observed  in  bones 
from  the  true  tertiary  strata. 

The  Kjokkenmoddings  were  not  mere  summer 
quarters  ;  the  ancient  fishermen  resided  on  these  spots 
for  at  least  two-thirds,  if  not  the  whole  of  the  year. 
This  we  learn  from  an  examination  of  the  bones  of  the 
wild  animals,  as  it  is  often  possible  to  determine,  within 
very  narrow  limits,  the  time  of  year  at  which  they  are 
killed.  For  instance,  the  remains  of  the  wild  swan 
{Cygnus  musicus)  are  very  common,  and  this  bird  is  only 
a  winter  visitor,  leaving  the  Danish  coast  in  March,  and 
returning  in  November.  It  might  naturally  have  been 
hoped  that  the  remains  of  young  birds  would  have 
supplied  evidence  as  to  the  spring  and  early  summer,  but 


HABITS   OF   MOUND-BUILDERS 


239 


unfortunately,  as  has  been  already  explained,  no  such 
bones  are  to  be  found.  It  is  therefore  fortunate  that 
among  the  mammalia  two  periodical  phenomena  occur  ; 
namely,  the  shedding  and  reproduction  of  stags'  antlers, 
which,  with  slight  variations  according  to  age,  have  a 
fixed  season  ;  and,  secondly,  the  birth  and  growth  of  the 
young.  These  and  similar  phenomena  render  it  highly 
probable  that  the  "  mound-builders "  resided  on  the 
Danish  coast  all  the  year  round, 
though  I  am  disposed  to  think  that, 
like  the  Fuegians,  who  lead,  even  now, 
a  very  similar  life,  they  frequently 
moved  from  spot  to  spot.  This 
appears  to  me  to  be  indicated  not 
only  by  the  condition  of  the  deserted 
hearths,  but  by  the  colour  of  the 
flint  flakes,  etc.  ;  for  while  many  of 
these  retain  the  usual  dull  bluish 
black  colour  which  is  characteristic 
of  newly -broken  flints,  and  which 
remains  unaltered  as  long  as  they 
are  surrounded  by  carbonate  of  lime, 
others  are  whitened,  as  is  usual  with 
those  which  have  been  exposed  for 
any  length  of  time.  Perhaps,  there- 
fore, these  were  lying  on  the  surface 
during  some  period  of  desertion,  and 
covered  over  only  when  the  place  was  again  inhabited. 

The  flint  implements  found  in  the  KjokkenmOddings 
resemble  those  which  are  characteristic  of  the  "  coast- 
finds."  They  may  be  classed  as  flakes  (figs.  86-99)  > 
"  shell-mound  "  axes,  which,  as  we  have  already  observed, 
present  a  peculiar  form  (figs.  1 17-1 19);  awls  (fig.  195), 
slingstones  or  net-weights,  and  rude  lance-heads  (figs. 
196,  197).  With  these  occur  other  forms,  which,  though 
very  rude,  are  evidently  artificial,  such  as  fig.  198,  which 
appears  to  have  been  a  kind  of  axe,  and  others  of 
which  the  sharp  edges  were  evidently  used  for  cutting 
purposes. 


Fig.  195.— Flint  awl  from 
Denmark,  actual  size. 


240 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


In    the    two    days   which    we  spent  at  Meilgaard,  we 
found  the  following  objects:  — 


"  Shell-mound  "  axes 

19 

Flint  flakes 

139 

Bone  pins,  etc. . 
Horns 

6 
6 

Pottery,  only     . 
Stone  hammer  . 

4  pieces 

I 

Slingstones,  about 

20 

195 

Of  the  three  "  pillars  "  of  material 
just  alluded  to  (p.  234),  the  first 
contained  seven  flint  flakes,  two  axes, 
one  worked  piece  of  horn,  three 
worked  pieces  of  bone,  and  some 
pottery  ;  in  the  second  were  sixteen 
flint  flakes,  one  axe,  and  seven  sling- 
stones ;  in  the  third,  four  flint  flakes, 
two  flint  axes,  and  a  pointed  bone. 
In  short,  without  appearing  to  be 
richer  than  other  KjokkenmOddings, 
Meilgaard  and  Havelse  have  each 
produced  already  more  than  a 
thousand  of  these  rude  relics,  though 
but  a  small  portion  of  the  mound 
has  in  either  case  been  hitherto  re- 
moved. We  need  not,  therefore,  wonder  at  the  number 
of  axes  found  in  the  valley  of  the  Somme,  where  so 
much  larger  a  mass  of  material  has  been  examined. 

No  polished  axes  have  yet  been  found  in  the  Kjokken- 
mOddings  ;  but  a  fragment  of  one  which  was  discovered 
at  Havelse,  and  which  had  been  worked  up  into  a  scraper, 
may  indicate  that  they  were  not  altogether  unknown, 
though  it  would  not  be  safe  to  decide  from  a  single 
specimen.  A  very  few  carefully  formed  weapons  have 
been  found,  but  the  implements  generally  are  very  rude, 
and  of  the  same  types  as  those  which  have  been  already 


Fig.  196.  —  Lance-head  (?)froin 
Denmark,  actual  size. 


FLINT    IMPLEMENTS 


241 


described  as  characteristic  ot  the  "  Coast-finds."  Small 
pieces  of  very  coarse  pottery  have  also  been  discovered, 
and  many  of  the  bones  from  the 
KjokkenmSddings  bear  evident  marks 
of  a  sharp  instrument  ;  several  of 
the  pieces  found  by  us  were  in  this 
condition,  and  had  been  fashioned 
into  rude  pins. 

The  observations  of  Arctic  travellers 
prove  that  even 
if  human  bones 
had  been  found 
in  the  shell- 
mounds,  this 
would  not  of 
itself  be  any  evi- 
dence of  canni- 
balism ;  but  the 
absence  of  such 
remains  satisfac- 
torily shows  that 
the  primitive 
population  of 
the  North  were 
free  from  this 
practice.  On 
the  other  hand, 
the  tumuli  have 

Fig  i97.-Lance-head(?)     supplied  US  with 
from  Denmark,  actual  size,         r  r 

numerous  skele- 
tons which  probably  belong  to  the 
Stone  Age.  The  skulls  are  very 
round,  and  in  many  respects  re- 
semble those  of  the  Lapps,  but  have  a  more  projecting 
ridge  over  the  eye.  One  curious  peculiarity  is,  that 
their  front  teeth  do  not  overlap  as  ours  do,  but  meet 
one  another,  as  do  those  of  the  Greenlanders  of  the 
present  day.  This  perhaps  is  due  to  the  manner  of 
eating,  rather  than  any  indication  of  race. 

16 


Fig.  19S. — Rude  flint  axe 
from  Denmark,  actual  size. 


242  PREHISTORIC    TIMES 

Much  as  still  remains  to  be  made  out  respecting  the 
men  of  the  Stone  Period,  the  facts  already  ascertained, 
like  a  few  strokes  by  a  clever  draughtsman,  supply  us 
with  the  elements  of  an  outline  sketch.  Carrying  our 
imagination  back  into  the  past,  we  see  before  us  on  the 
low  shores  of  the  Danish  Archipelago  a  race  of  small 
men,  with  heavy  overhanging  brows,  round  heads,  and 
faces  probably  much  like  those  of  the  present  Laplanders. 
As  they  must  evidently  have  had  some  protection  from 
the  weather,  it  is  most  probable  that  they  lived  in  tents 
made  of  skins.  The  total  absence  of  metal  in  the 
KjokkenmSddings  indicates  that  they  had  not  yet  any 
weapons  except  those  made  of  wood,  stone,  horn,  and 
bone.  Their  principal  food  must  have  consisted  of 
shell-fish,  but  they  were  able  to  catch  fish,  and  often 
varied  their  diet  by  game  caught  in  hunting.  It  is 
evident  that  marrow  was  considered  a  great  delicacy, 
for  every  single  bone  which  contained  any  was  split 
open  in  the  manner  best  adapted  to  extract  the  precious 
morsel. 

We  have  already  seen  that  the  mound-builders  were 
regular  settlers,  and  not  mere  summer  visitors  ;  and  on 
the  whole  they  seem  to  have  lived  in  very  much  the  same 
manner  as  the  Tierra  del  Fuegians,  who  dwell  on  the 
coast,  feed  principally  on  shell-fish,  and  have  the  dog  as 
their  only  domestic  animal.  A  good  account  of  them  is 
given  in  Darwin's  Journal  (p.  234),  from  which  I  extract 
the  following  passages,  which  give  us  a  vivid  and  probably 
correct  idea  of  what  might  have  been  seen  on  the  Danish 
shores,  long,  long  ago.  "  The  inhabitants,  living  chiefly 
upon  shell-fish,  are  obliged  constantly  to  change  their 
place  of  residence  ;  but  they  return  at  intervals  to  the 
same  spots,  as  is  evident  from  the  pile  of  old  shells, 
which  must  often  amount  to  some  tons  in  weight.  These 
heaps  can  be  distinguished  at  a  long  distance  by  the 
bright  green  colour  of  certain  plants  which  invariably 
grow  on  them.  .  .  .  The  Fuegian  wigwam  resembles, 
in  size  and  dimensions,  a  haycock.  It  merely  consists  of 
a  few  broken  branches  stuck  in    the    ground,  and  very 


THE   FUEGIANS  243 

imperfectly  thatched  on  one  side  with  a  few  tufts  of  grass 
and  rushes.  The  whole  cannot  be  so  much  as  the  work 
of  an  hour,  and  it  is  only  used  for  a  few  days.  ...  At 
a  subsequent  period,  the  Beagle  anchored  for  a  couple  of 
days  under  Wollaston  Island,  which  is  a  short  way  to  the 
northward.  While  going  on  shore,  we  pulled  alongside 
a  canoe  with  six  Fuegians.  These  were  the  most  abject 
and  miserable  creatures  I  anywhere  beheld.  On  the  east 
coast,  the  natives,  as  we  have  seen,  have  guanoco  cloaks, 
and  on  the  west,  they  possess  sealskins.  Amongst  the 
central  tribes  the  men  generally  possess  an  otter-skin,  or 
some  small  scrap  about  as  large  as  a  pocket-handkerchief, 
which  is  barely  sufficient  to  cover  their  backs  as  low  down 
as  their  loins.  It  is  laced  across  the  breast  by  strings, 
and  according  as  the  wind  blows,  it  is  shifted  from  side 
to  side.  But  these  Fuegians  in  the  canoe  were  quite 
naked,  and  even  one  full-grown  woman  was  absolutely  so. 
It  was  raining  heavily,  and  the  fresh  water,  together  with 
the  spray,  trickled  down  her  body.  .  .  .  These  poor 
wretches  were  stunted  in  their  growth,  their  hideous 
faces  bedaubed  with  white  paint,  their  skins  filthy  and 
greasy,  their  hair  entangled,  their  voices  discordant, 
their  gestures  violent  and  without  dignity.  Viewing 
such  men,  one  can  hardly  make  oneself  believe  they  are 
fellow-creatures  and  inhabitants  of  the  same  world.  .  .  . 
At  night,  five  or  six  human  beings,  naked  and  scarcely 
protected  from  the  wind  and  rain  of  this  tempestuous 
climate,  sleep  on  the  wet  ground  coiled  up  like  animals. 
Whenever  it  is  low  water,  they  must  rise  to  pick  shell- 
fish from  the  rocks  ;  and  the  women,  winter  and  summer, 
either  dive  to  collect  sea  eggs,  or  sit  patiently  in  their 
canoes,  and,  with  a  baited  hair  line,  jerk  out  small  fish. 
If  a  seal  is  killed,  or  the  floating  carcase  of  a  putrid  whale 
discovered,  it  is  a  feast  ;  such  miserable  food  is  assisted 
by  a  few  tasteless  berries  and  fungi.  Nor  are  they 
exempt  from  famine,  and,  as  a  consequence,  cannibalism 
accompanied  by  parricide."  In  this  latter  respect,  however, 
the  advantage  appears  to  be  all  on  the  side  of  the  ancients, 
against  whom  we  have  no  evidence  of  cannibalism. 


244  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

If  the  absence  of  cereal  remains  justifies  us,  as  it  appears 
to  do,  in  concluding  that  they  had  no  knowledge  of 
agriculture,  they  must  certainly  have  sometimes  suffered 
from  periods  of  great  scarcity,  indications  of  which  may, 
perhaps,  be  seen  in  the  bones  of  the  fox,  wolf,  and  other 
carnivora,  which  would  hardly  have  been  eaten  from 
choice  ;  on  the  other  hand,  they  were  blessed  in  the 
ignorance  of  spirituous  liquors,  and  saved  thereby  from 
what  is  at  present  the  greatest  scourge  of  Northern 
Europe. 

The  shell-mounds  and  coast-finds,  according  to  Professor 
Worsaae,  are  characterized  by  rough  flint  implements 
(figs.  1 1 7-1 19,  195-198),  and  are  the  remains  of  a  much 
ruder  and  more  barbarous  people  than  that  which  con- 
structed the  large  Stone  Age  tumuli,  and  made  the 
beautiful  weapons,  etc.,  found  in  them.  He  does  not 
altogether  deny  that  a  few  well-worked  implements,  and 
fragments  of  such,  have  been  found  in  the  Kjokkenmod- 
dings,  but  he  considers  that  some  of  these  at  least  may 
be  altogether  more  recent  than  the  shell-mounds  in 
which  they  are  reported  to  have  been  found,  and,  at  any 
rate,  that  their  presence  is  altogether  exceptional.  At 
Meilgaard,  for  instance,  the  researches  undertaken  under 
the  superintendence  of  the  late  king  in  June,  1861,  pro- 
duced more  than  five  hundred  flint  flakes  and  other  rude 
implements,  but  not  a  single  specimen  with  a  trace  of 
polishing,  or  in  any  way  resembling  the  flint  implements 
found  in  the  tumuli.  On  the  other  hand,  these  rude 
implements  are  said  to  be  wanting  in  the  tumuli,  where 
they  are  replaced  by  instruments  of  a  different  character 
and  more  skilful  workmanship.  Moreover,  while  it  is 
admitted  on  all  hands  that  the  shell-mound  makers  had 
no  domestic  animal  but  the  dog,  and  no  knowledge  of 
agriculture.  Professor  Worsaae  considers  that  during  the 
later  Stone  Age  the  inhabitants  of  Denmark  certainly 
possessed  tame  cattle  and  horses,  and  had  in  all  probability 
some  knowledge  of  agriculture. 

Professor  Steenstrup  is  of  an  entirely  different  opinion, 
and  considers  that  the  Kjokkenmoddings  and  Stone  Age 


SHELL-MOUNDS   AND   TUMULI        245 

tumuli  were  contemporaneous.  He  denies  altogether 
that  remains  of  tame  oxen  or  horses  have  been  found  in 
tumuli  of  the  Stone  Age,  except  in  a  very  few  instances, 
and  in  these  he  maintains  that  the  fragments  which  have 
occurred  are  evidently  not  coeval  with  the  mounds  them- 
selves, and  that  in  all  probability  they  have  been  intro- 
duced by  foxes.  He  admits  that  the  stone  implements 
from  the  shell-mounds  and  coast-finds  are  altogether 
different  from,  and  much  ruder  than,  those  from  the 
tumuli  ;  he  considers  the  two  classes  as  representing,  not 
two  different  degrees,  but  two  different  phases  of  one 
single  condition  of  civilization.  The  tumuli  are  the 
burial-places  of  chiefs,  the  KjOkkenmOddings  are  the 
refuse  heaps  of  fishermen.  The  first  contained  all  that 
skill  could  contrive,  affection  offer,  or  wealth  command  ; 
the  second,  those  things  only  which  art  could  not  make 
available,  which  were  thrown  away  as  useless,  or  accident- 
ally lost.  In  order,  therefore,  to  compare  these  two 
classes  of  objects,  we  must  take,  not  the  ordinary  rude 
specimens  which  are  so  numerous  in  the  shell-mounds, 
but  the  few  better-made  implements  which,  fortunately 
for  science  and  for  us,  were  lost  among  the  oyster-shells, 
or  which  had  been  broken,  and  therefore  thrown  away. 
These,  though  few  in  number,  are,  in  Professor  Steen- 
strup's  opinion,  quite  as  numerous  as  could  have  been 
expected  under  the  circumstances.  Moreover,  the  long 
flint  flakes,  which  are  so  common  in  the  Kjokkenmoddings, 
are  sufficient  evidence  that  great  skill  in  the  treatment  of 
flint  had  already  been  attained.  Some  of  the  flakes  found 
in  the  Kjckkenmoddings  are  equal  to  any  from  the  tumuli ; 
several  of  those  which  we  found  at  Meilgaard  were  more 
than  5,  and  one  was  more  than  6  inches  in  length  ; 
while  I  have  in  my  possession  a  giant  flake  from  Fannerup 
(figs.  87-89),  given  to  me  by  Professor  Steenstrup,  which 
has  a  length  of  8|  inches.  As  regards  the  rude,  more 
or  less  triangular  "axes"  (figs.  11 7-1 19)  which  are  so 
characteristic  of  the  KjCkkenmOddings  and  coast-finds. 
Professor  Steenstrup,  as  we  have  already  seen,  declines  to 
compare    them    with    the   polished   axes    of    the    tumuli. 


246  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

because  in  his  opinion  they  were  not  intended  for  the  same 
purposes.  In  addition  to  the  direct  evidence  derived  from 
the  discovery  of  some  few  well-made  flint  axes  of  the 
tumulus  type,  Professor  Steenstrup  relies  much  on  the 
indirect  evidence  derivable  from  the  other  contents  of  the 
shell-mounds.  Thus  the  frequent  remains  of  large  and 
full-grown  animals — for  instance,  of  the  seal  and  the  wild 
ox — are  in  his  opinion  sufficient  evidence  that  the  shell- 
mound  builders  must  have  had  weapons  more  useful  and 
destructive  than  any  which  Professor  Worsaae  will  con- 
cede to  them  ;  moreover,  he  considers  that  many  of  the 
cuts  which  are  so  common  on  the  bones  found  in  the 
shell-heaps  must  have  been  made  by  polished  implements, 
and  are  too  smooth  to  be  the  marks  of  flint  flakes,  accord- 
ing to  the  suggestion  of  Professor  Worsaae.  Finally, 
Professor  Steenstrup,  though  not  attributing  so  much 
weight  as  Professor  Worsaae  to  the  absence  of  the  ruder 
implements  from  the  tumuli,  even  if  this  had  been  the 
case,  disputes  the  fact  on  the  ground  that  these  imple- 
ments would  not  until  recently  have  been  recognized  and 
collected,  and  that  they  have,  in  fact,  been  found  whenever 
they  were  looked  for. 

After  having  carefully  considered  the  evidence  on  both 
sides,  I  find  myself,  as  might  naturally  be  expected, 
unable  altogether  to  agree  with  either. 

The  small  rude  axes  seem  to  me  even  less  well  adapted 
to  the  purpose  suggested  by  Professor  Steenstrup,  than 
to  those  which  have  generally  been  attributed  to  them. 
There  are,  no  doubt,  some  which  could  never  have  been 
used  for  cutting,  but  these  may  have  been  failures,  owing 
to  some  want  of  skill  on  the  part  of  the  manufacturer,  or 
some  flaw  in  the  flint  itself.  Others  appear  to  me,  as  to 
Professor  Worsaae,  serviceable,  though  rude  ;  and  well 
adapted  for  some  purpose  (possibly  for  oyster  dredging 
or  chopping  wood)  which  required  a  strong  rather  than  a 
sharp  edge.  They  also  very  closely  resemble  in  form 
some  of  the  adzes  used  by  the  South  Sea  Islanders,  one 
of  which  I  have  figured  for  comparison  (see  fig.  120). 
They  seem  to  me,  however,  as  to  Professor  Steenstrup, 


SHELL-MOUNDS   AND   TUMULI        247 

to  differ  in  character  from  the  well-made  and  generally 
polished  axes,  and  not  to  be  ruder  implements  of  the 
same  type.  Although  the  carefully  formed  knives,  axes, 
lance-heads,  etc.,  would  not  be  likely  to  abound  in  the 
Kj5kkenmciddings,  any  more  than  works  of  art  or  objects 
or  value  in  modern  dust-heaps  ;  still  I  confess  I  should 
have  expected  that  fragments  of  these  instruments,  re- 
cognizable to  us,  though  useless  to  their  original  owners, 
would  have  been  more  numerous  than,  in  reality,  they 
appear  to  be. 

In  addition  to  the  500  rude  implements  described  by 
Professor  Worsaae  as  having  been  found  at  Meilgaard 
during  the  king's  visit,  I  myself  obtained  140  flint  flakes, 
with  about  50  other  implements,  in  the  visit  to  this  cele- 
brated locality  which  I  made  some  years  ago  under  the 
guidance  of  Professor  Steenstrup.  To  these,  again,  must 
be  added  many  which  had  previously  been  collected  by 
M.  Olsen,  and  the  members  of  the  KjOkkenmOdding 
Committee  ;  and  yet  among  so  large  a  number  of  instru- 
ments of  various  kinds  there  is  only  one  which  in  any 
respect  resembles  the  well-worked  implements  of  the 
tumuli.  So,  again,  at  Havelse  only  a  single  fragment  of 
polished  axe  has  been  found  among  more  than  a  thousand 
objects  of  the  ruder  kind.  It  might,  however,  fairly  be 
urged  that  in  such  a  comparison  neither  the  flakes  nor 
"  slingstones  "  ought  to  be  brought  into  consideration  in 
this  case  ;  and  if  we  were  to  count  the  axes  only,  the 
numbers  would  be  greatly  diminished. 

Moreover,  the  alleged  absence  of  rude  implements  in 
the  Stone  Age  barrows  has  been  satisfactorily  explained  by 
Professor  Steenstrup.  In  this  country  it  might  be  argued, 
from  the  statements  of  so  intelligent  an  antiquary  as  Sir 
R.  Colt  Hoare,  that  rude  implements  were  never,  or  very 
rarely,  found  in  tumuli  ;  but  the  more  recent  researches  of 
Mr  Bateman,  Canon  Greenwell,  and  other  archaeologists, 
have  shown  that  this  is  very  far  from  being  the  case,  and 
have  made  it  evident  that  the  ruder  implements  of  stone 
were  overlooked  by  the  earlier  archaeologists.  In  the 
tumuli  examined  by  Mr  Bateman,  he  obtained  many  flint 


248  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

flakes,  etc.,  quite  as  rude  as  those  which  are  found  in  the 
shell-mounds.  So  far  as  I  am  aware,  however,  none  of 
the  small  triangular  axes,  which  are  so  characteristic  of  the 
shell-mounds,  have  yet  been  met  with  in  the  tumuli. 
Nor,  on  the  other  hand,  has  a  single  specimen  resembling 
those  which  are  characteristic  of  the  Palaeolithic  Age  yet 
been  found  in  the  shell-mounds. 

Finally,  we  have,  I  think,  no  conclusive  evidence  of 
the  remains  of  domestic  animals  (other  than  the  dog)  in 
Stone  Age  tumuli. 

On  the  whole,  the  evidence  appears  to  show  that  the 
Danish  shell-mounds  represent  a  definite  period  in  the 
history  of  that  country,  and  are  probably  referable  to  the 
early  part  of  the  Neolithic  Age,  when  the  art  of  polishing 
flint  implements  was  known,  but  before  it  had  reached 
its  greatest  development. 

It  is,  however,  as  yet,  impossible  to  afiix  even  an  ap- 
proximate date  in  years  to  the  formation  of  the  Kjokken- 
moddings.  Their  accumulation,  indeed,  must  evidently 
have  occupied  a  considerable  period,  and  it  is  of  course 
highly  probable  that  some  are  much  older  than  others. 
They  must  all,  however,  be  of  very  considerable  antiquity. 
We  know  that  the  country  has  long  been  covered  by 
beech  forests,  and  yet  it  appears  that  during  the  Bronze 
Age  beeches  were  absent,  or  only  represented  by 
stragglers,  while  the  whole  country  was  covered  with 
oaks.  This  change  implies  a  great  lapse  of  time,  even 
if  we  suppose  that  but  a  few  generations  of  oaks  suc- 
ceeded one  another.  We  know  also  that  the  oaks  had 
been  preceded  by  pines,  and  that  the  country  was  in- 
habited even  then. 

Again,  the  immense  number  of  objects  belonging  to  the 
Bronze  Age,  which  have  been  already  found  in  Denmark, 
and  the  great  number  of  tumuli,  appear  to  justify  the 
Danish  archaeologists  in  assigning  to  this  period  a  great 
lapse  of  time.  This  argument  applies  with  peculiar  force 
to  the  remains  of  the  Stone  Period  :  for  a  country,  the 
inhabitants  of  which  live  by  hunting  and  fishing,  can 
never  be  thickly  populated  ;  and,  on  the  whole,  the  con- 


ANTIQUITY   OF   SHELL-MOUNDS       249 

elusion  is  forced  upon  us,  that  the  country  must  have 
been  inhabited  for  a  lengthened  period,  although  none  of 
the  Danish  remains  yet  discovered  belong  to  a  time  as 
ancient  as  some  of  those  which  have  been  found  in  other 
parts  of  Europe,  and  which  will  be  described  in  subse- 
quent chapters. 


CHAPTER   VIII 


NORTH    AMERICAN    ARCHEOLOGY 

Our  knowledge  of  North  American  archaeology  is 
derived  mainly  from  the  valuable  researches  of  Mr  Caleb 
Atwater,  contained  in  the  first  volume  of  the  Archceologia 
Americana^  and  from  four  excellent  memoirs  published 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution  : — 
(i)  Ancient  Monuments  of  the  Mississippi  Valley^  comprising 
the  Results  of  extensive  Original  Surveys  and  Explorations^ 
by  E.  G.  Squier,  A.M.,  and  E.  H.  Davis,  M.D. 
(2)  Aboriginal  Monuments  of  the  State  of  New  York^  com- 
prising the  Results  of  Original  Surveys  and  Explorations^  with 
an  illustrative  Appendix^  by  E.  G.  Squier,  A.M.  (3)  The 
Antiquities  of  Wisconsin^  as  surveyed  and  described  by 
J.  A.  Lapham.  (4)  The  Archaeology  of  the  United  States^  or 
Sketches^  Historical  and  Biographical^  of  the  Progress  of 
Information  and  Opinion  respecting  Vestiges  of  Antiquity  in 
the  United  States^  by  Samuel  F.  Haven.  Nor  must  I  omit 
to  mention  Schoolcraft's  History^  Condition^  and  Prospects  of 
the  Indian  Tribes  of  the  United  States} 

The  antiquities  fall  into  two  great  divisions  :  imple- 
ments (including  ornaments)  and  earthworks.  The 
earthworks  have  been  again  divided  by  the  American 
archaeologists  into  six  classes  : — (i)  Defensive  enclosures  ; 
(2)  Sacred  and  miscellaneous  enclosures  ;  (3)  Sepulchral 
mounds  ;  (4)  Temple  mounds  ;  (5)  "Animal"  mounds  ; 
and  (6)   Miscellaneous    mounds.     These  classes    I    shall 

'  Among  more  recent  works  on  the  subject,  I  may  specially  refer  to 
Bancroft's  Native  Races  of  the  Pacific  States  ;  Jones's  Atttiqiiities  of  the 
Soiiiherfi  Indians ;  Foster's  Prehistoric  Races  of  the  Utiited  States  ; 
Abbott's  Stone  Age  in  New  Jersey. 

250 


IMPLEMENTS 


251 


treat  separately,  and    we    can    then    better   consider    the 
"  mound-builders  "  themselves. 

The  simple  weapons  of  bone  and  stone,  found  in 
America,  closely  resemble  those  which  occur  in  other 
countries.  The  flakes,  hatchets,  axes,  arrow-heads,  and 
bone  implements  are,  for  instance,  very  similar  to  those 
which  occur  in  the  Swiss  lakes,  if  only  we  make  allow- 
ance for  the  differences  of  material.  In 
addition  to  the  simple  forms,  which  may 
almost  be  said  to  be  ubiquitous,  there  are 
some,  however,  which  are  more  compli- 
cated. The  perforated  axes  found  in 
Europe  are  generally  considered  to  be- 
long to  the  Metallic  Age  ;  but  as  far  as 
America  is  concerned,  we  have  not  yet 
any  evidence  as  to  the  relative  antiquity 
of  the  perforated  and  imperforated  types. 

At  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  America, 
iron  was  absolutely  unknown  to  the  natives, 
with  the  exception,  perhaps,  of  a  tribe  near 
the  mouth  of  the  La  Plata,  who  had  arrows 
tipped  with  this  metal,  which  they  are 
supposed  to  have  obtained  from  masses 
of  native  iron.  The  powerful  nations  of 
Central  America  were,  however,  in  an  Ap:e    Fig.  199.— Copper 

-  1  XT         1        A  •  arrow   or  spear- 

or  Bronze,  while  the  North  Americans  head,  Cindn- 
were  in  a  condition  of  which  we  find  in 
Europe  but  scanty  traces — namely,  in  an 
Age  of  Copper.  Silver  is  the  only  other  metal  which 
has  been  found  in  the  ancient  tumuli,  and  that  but  in 
very  small  quantities.  It  occurs  sparingly  in  a  native 
form  with  the  copper  of  Lake  Superior,  whence,  in  all 
probability,  it  was  derived.  It  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  ever  smelted.  From  the  large  quantity  of  galena 
which  is  found  in  the  mounds,  Messrs  Squier  and  Davis 
are  disposed  to  think  that  lead  must  have  been  used  to 
a  certain  extent  by  the  North  American  tribes  ;  the  metal 
itself,  however,  has  not,  I  believe,  yet  been  found. 

Copper,  on    the  other   hand,    both   wrought    and    un- 


nati,      one-third 
actual  size. 


252 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


I 


wrought,  occurs  frequently  in  the  tumuli.  It  is  interest- 
ing to  observe  that  the  copper  arrow-  or  spear-heads 
(fig.  199)  resemble  the  American  type  of  stone  arrow- 
heads.    The  axes  have   a  striking  resemblance  to  those 

simple  European  forms  which 
contain  the  minimum  quantity 
of  tin,  and  as  in  them  the 
socket,  when  there  is  one,  is 
made  by  flattening  the  copper 
and  turning  over  the  edge 
(fig.  200)  ;  and  some  of  the 
Mexican  paintings  give  us  in- 
teresting evidence  as  to  the 
manner  in  which  they  were 
handled  and  used.  These, 
however,  were  of  bronze,  and 
had,  therefore,  been  fused  ; 
but  the  Indian  axes,  which 
are  of  pure  metallic  copper, 
appear  in  all  cases  to  have 
been  worked  in  a  cold  state, 
which  is  remarkable,  because, 
as  Messrs  Squier  and  Davis 
have  pointed  out,  "  the  fires 
upon  the  altar  were  suffici- 
ently intense  to  melt  down  the 
copper  implements  and  orna- 
ments deposited  upon  them. 
The  hint  thus  aflbrded  does 
not  seem  to  have  been  seized 
upon."  Mr  Perkins,  indeed, 
who  has  devoted  much  atten- 
tion to  these  implements,  is  of  opinion  that  some  of 
them  were  cast  ;  and  this  view  has  also  been  adopted  by 
Mr  Foster  and  Professor  Butler.  Sir  John  Evans  has 
also  called  attention  to  a  passage  in  which  De  Champlain, 
the  founder  of  Quebec,  tells  us  that  in  16 10  he  met  a 
party  of  Algonquins,  one  of  whom  met  him  on  his  barque, 
and,   after    conversation,    "  tira   d'une   sac    une    piece   de 


\ 


Fig.  200. — Copper  lance-head, 
Ontonagon,  one-third  actual  size. 


COPPER  AND  COPPER  MINES    253 

cuivre  de  la  longueur  d'un  pied  qu'il  me  donna,  lequel 
estoit  fort  beau  et  bien  franc,  me  donnant  a  entendre 
qu'il  en  avoit  en  quantite  la  ou  il  I'avoit  pris,  qui  c'etoit 
sur  le  bort  d'une  riviere  proche  d'une  grand  lac  et  qu'ils  le 
prenoient  par  morceaux,  et  le  faisant  fondre  le  mettoient 
en  lames,  et  avec  des  pierres  le  rendoient  uny."  ^  Mr 
Foster  gives  a  plate  ^  showing  what  he  considers  to 
be  the  mark  left  by  the  line  of  junction  between  the 
two  halves  of  the  mould.  Dr  Schmidt^  has,  however, 
given  strong  reasons  for  doubting  this  conclusion,  and 
certainly  the  marks  shown  on  the  above  -  mentioned 
figures  have  rather  the  appearance  of  weathering.  On 
the  whole,  though  it  would  seem  that  they  sometimes  at 
any  rate  softened  the  metal  by  heat,  we  have  not,  I  think, 
at  present  any  sufficient  evidence  that  the  Redskins  were 
acquainted  with  the  art  of  casting.  This  is  the  more 
surprising,  because,  as  Schoolcraft  *  tells  us,  "  in  almost 
all  the  works  lately  opened  there  are  heaps  of  coals  and 
ashes,  showing  that  fire  had  much  to  do  with  their 
operations."  Thus,  though  they  were  acquainted  with 
metal,  they  did  not  know  how  to  use  it ;  and,  as  Professor 
Dana  has  well  observed  in  a  letter  with  which  he  has 
favoured  me,  they  may  in  one  sense  be  said  to  have  been 
in  an  Age  of  Stone,  since  they  used  the  copper,  not  as 
metal,  but  as  stone.  This  intermediate  condition  between 
an  Age  of  Stone  and  one  of  Metal  is  most  interesting. 

In  the  neighbourhood  of  Lake  Superior,  and  in  some 
other  still  more  northern  localities,  copper  is  found 
native  in  large  quantities,  and  the  Indians  had  therefore 
nothing  to  do  but  to  break  off  pieces,  and  hammer  them 
into  the  required  shape.  Hearne's  celebrated  journey  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Coppermine  River,  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  was  undertaken  in  order 
to  examine  the  locality  whence  the  natives  of  that  district 
obtained  the  metal.  In  this  case  it  occurred  in  lumps 
actually   on   the  surface,  and  the  Indians  seem  to  have 

^  Les  Voyages  du  Sieur  de  C/iamp/atti,  Paris,  1613. 

'■^  Prehistoric  Races  of  the  United  States,  p.  259. 

■*  Ar./iir  Anthropologie,  1878,  p.  65.  *  Indian  Tribes,  p.  97. 


254  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

picked  up  what  they  could,  without  attempting  anything 
that  could  be  called  mining.  Round  Lake  Superior, 
however,  the  case  is  very  different.  A  short  account  of 
the  ancient  copper  mines  is  given  by  Messrs  Squier  and 
Davis  in  the  work  already  so  often  cited,  by  Mr  Squier  in 
The  Aboriginal  Monuments  of  the  State  of  New  York^  by 
Mr  Lapham,^  and  by  Mr  Schoolcraft  ;  ^  while  the  same 
subject  is  treated  at  considerable  length  by  Professor 
Wilson. 

The  works  appear  to  have  been  first  discovered  in 
1847  t>y  Mr  Knapp,  the  agent  of  the  Minnesota  Mining 
Company.  His  observations  have  "  brought  to  light 
ancient  excavations  of  great  extent,  frequently  from 
twenty- five  to  thirty  feet  deep,  and  scattered  over  an  area 
of  several  miles.  He  counted  395  annular  rings  on 
a  hemlock-tree  which  grew  on  one  of  the  mounds  of 
earth  thrown  out  of  an  ancient  mine.  Mr  Foster  also 
notes  the  great  size  and  age  of  a  pine  stump,  which  must 
have  grown,  flourished,  and  died  since  the  works  were 
deserted  ;  and  Mr  C.  Whittesley  not  only  refers  to  living 
trees  upwards  of  three  hundred  years  old,  now  flourishing 
in  the  gathered  soil  of  the  abandoned  trenches,  but  adds, 
*  On  the  same  spot  there  are  the  decayed  trunks  of  a 
preceding  generation  or  generations  of  trees  that  have 
arrived  at  maturity,  and  fallen  down  from  old  age.' 
According  to  the  same  writer,  in  a  communication  made 
to  the  American  Association,  at  the  Montreal  meeting  in 
1857,  these  ancient  works  extend  over  a  tract  from  100 
to  1 50  miles  in  length,  along  the  southern  shore  of  the 
lake." 

Wooden  implements  are  so  perishable  that  we  could 
not  expect  many  of  them  to  have  been  found.  Two  or 
three  wooden  bowls,  a  trough,  and  some  shovels  with 
long  handles,  are  all  that  appear  to  be  recorded. 

It  has  often  been  stated  that  the  Indians  possessed  some 

method,  at  present  unknown,  by  which  they  were  enabled 

to  harden  the  copper.     This  however,  seems   to   be   an 

error.       Some    copper    implements,    which    Mr    Wilson 

1  L.c,  p.  74.  2  ^_^_^  p_  g5_ 


ANCIENT  POTTERY  255 

submitted  to  Professor  Crofts,  were  found  to  be  no 
harder  than  the  native  copper  from  Lake  Superior. 
"The  structure  of  the  metal  was  also  highly  laminated, 
as  if  the  instrument  had  been  brought  to  its  present 
shape  by  hammering  out  a  solid  mass  of  copper." 

Before  the  introduction  of  metallic  vessels,  the  art  of 
the  potter  was  more  important  even  than  it  is  at  present. 
Accordingly,  the  sites  of  all  ancient  habitations  are 
generally  marked  by  numerous  fragments  of  pottery  ; 
this  is  as  true  of  the  ancient  Indian  settlements,  as  of  the 
Celtic  towns  of  England,  or  the  lake-villages  of  Switzer- 
land. These  fragments,  however,  would  generally  be 
those  of  rude  household  vessels,  and  it  is  principally 
from  the  tumuli  that  we  obtain  those  better-made  urns 
and  cups  from  which  the  state  of  the  art  may  fairly  be 
inferred. 

In  North  America  the  art  of  the  potter  attained  to  a 
considerable  degree  of  perfection  ;  some  of  the  vases 
found  in  the  tumuli  are  said  to  rival,  "  in  elegance  of 
model,  delicacy,  and  finish,"  the  best  Peruvian  specimens. 
The  material  used  is  a  fine  clay  :  in  the  more  delicate 
specimens,  pure  ;  in  the  coarser  ones,  mixed  with  pounded 
quartz.  The  art  of  glazing  and  the  use  of  the  potter's 
wheel  appear  not  to  have  been  known,  though  that 
"  simple  approximation  to  a  potter's  wheel  may  have 
existed,"  which  consists  of  "  a  stick  of  wood  grasped  in 
the  hand  by  the  middle,  and  turned  round  inside  a  wall 
of  clay,  formed  by  the  other  hand,  or  by  another 
workman."^ 

Among  the  most  characteristic  specimens  of  ancient 
American  pottery  are  the  pipes.  Some  of  these  are 
simple  bowls,  not  unlike  a  common  every-day  pipe,  from 
which  they  differ  in  having  generally  no  stem,  the  mouth 
having  apparently  been  applied  direct  to  the  bowl. 
Many  are  highly  ornamented,  others  are  spirited  repre- 
sentations of  monsters  or  of  animals,  such  as  the  beaver, 
otter,  wild  cat,  elk,  bear,  wolf,  panther,  racoon,  opossum, 
squirrel,  manatee,  eagle,  hawk,  heron,  owl,  buzzard, 
'  Squier  and  Davis,  /.t.,  p.  195. 


256 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


raven,  swallow,  parroquet,  duck,  grouse,  and  many  others. 
The  most  interesting  of  these,  perhaps,  is  the  manatee 
or  lamantin,  of  which  seven  representations  have  been 
found  in  the  mounds  of  Ohio.  These  are  no  mere  rude 
sculptures,  about  which  there  might  easily  be  a  mistake, 
but  we  are  assured  that  "  the  truncated  head,  thick 
semicircular  snout,  peculiar  nostrils,  tumid,  furrowed 
upper  lip,  singular  feet  or  fins,  and  remarkable  moustaches, 
are  all  distinctly  marked,  and  render  the  recognition  of 
the  animal  complete."  ^  This  curious  animal  is  not  at 
present   found    nearer    than    the    shores    of    Florida,    a 

thousand  miles  away. 

The  ornaments  which 
have  been  found  in  the 
mounds  consist  of  beads, 
shells,  necklaces,  pen- 
dants, plates  of  mica, 
bracelets,  gorgets,  etc. 
The  number  of  beads  is 
sometimes  quite  surpris- 
ing. Thus  the  cele- 
brated Grave  Creek  mound  contained  between  three  and 
four  thousand  shell-beads,  besides  about  two  hundred 
and  fifty  ornaments  of  mica,  several  bracelets  of  copper, 
and  various  articles  carved  in  stone.  The  beads  are 
generally  made  of  shell,  but  are  sometimes  cut  out  of 
bone  or  teeth  ;  in  form  they  are  generally  round  or 
oblong  ;  sometimes  the  shell  of  the  Unio  is  cut  and 
strung  so  as  to  "  exhibit  the  convex  surface  and  pearly 
nacre  of  the  shell."  The  necklaces  are  often  made  of 
beads  or  shells,  but  sometimes  of  teeth.  The  ornaments 
of  mica  are  thin  plates  of  various  forms,  each  of  which 
has  a  small  hole.  The  bracelets  are  of  copper,  and 
generally  encircle  the  arms  of  the  skeletons,  besides 
being  frequent  on  the  "altars."  They  are  simple  rings 
"  hammered  out  with  more  or  less  skill,  and  so  bent 
that  the  ends  approach,  or  lap  over,  each  other."  The 
so-called   "gorgets"   are    thin   plates   of  copper,   always 

^  Squier  and  Davis,  l.c.^  p.  252. 


Fig.  201. — Heron  pipe,  carved  in  porphyry. 


EARTHWORKS  257 

with  two  holes,  and  probably,  therefore,  worn  as  badges 
of  authority. 

The  earthworks  are  most  abundant  in  the  central  parts 
of  the  United  States.  They  decrease  in  number  as  we 
approach  the  Atlantic,  and  are  very  scarce  in  British 
America  and  on  the  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

The  works  belonging  to  this  class  "  usually  occupy 
strong  natural  positions,"  and  as  a  fair  specimen  of  them 
we  may  take  the  Bourneville  Enclosure  in  Ross  County, 
Ohio,  which  consists  of  a  wall  of  stone,  which  is  carried 
round  the  hill  a  little  below  the  brow  ;  but  at  some  places 
it  rises,  so  as  to  cut  off  the  narrow  spurs,  and  extends 
across  the  neck  that  connects  the  hill  with  the  range 
beyond.  It  must  not,  however,  be  understood  that 
anything  like  a  true  wall  now  exists  ;  the  present  ap- 
pearance is  rather  what  might  have  been  "  expected  from 
the  falling  outwards  of  a  wall  of  stones,  placed,  as  this 
was,  upon  the  declivity  of  a  hill."  Where  it  is  most 
distinct  it  is  from  15  to  20  feet  wide,  by  3  or  4  in 
height.  The  area  thus  enclosed  is  about  140  acres,  and 
the  wall  is  2^  miles  in  length.  The  stones  themselves 
vary  much  in  size,  and  Messrs  Squier  and  Davis  suggest 
that  the  wall  may  originally  have  been  about  8  feet  high, 
with  an  equal  base.  At  present,  trees  of  the  largest  size 
are  growing  upon  it.  On  a  similar  work  known  as 
"  Fort  Hill,"  Highland  County,  Ohio  (fig.  202),  Messrs 
Squier  and  Davis  found  a  splendid  chestnut  tree,  which 
they  suppose  to  be  six  hundred  years  old.  "  If,"  they 
say,  "  to  this  we  add  the  probable  period  intervening  from 
the  time  of  the  building  of  this  work  to  its  abandonment, 
and  the  subsequent  period  up  to  its  invasion  by  the 
forest,  we  are  led  irresistibly  to  the  conclusion  that  it 
has  an  antiquity  of  at  least  one  thousand  years.  But 
when  we  notice,  all  around  us,  the  crumbling  trunks  of 
trees,  half  hidden  in  the  accumulating  soil,  we  are  induced 
to  fix  on  an  antiquity  still  more  remote." 

The  enclosure  known  as  "  Clark's  Work,"  in  Ross 
County,  Ohio,  is  one  of  the  largest  and  most  interesting. 
It  consists  of  a  parallelogram,  2800  feet  by   1800,  and 

17 


258 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


enclosing  about  1 1 1  acres.  To  the  right  of  this,  the 
principal  work  is  a  perfect  square^  containing  an  area  of 
about  16  acres.  Each  side  is  850  feet  in  length,  and  in 
the  middle  of  each  is  a  gateway  30  feet  wide,  covered  by 
a  small  mound.  Within  the  area  of  the  great  work  are 
several  smaller  mounds  and  enclosures,  and  it  is  estimated 
that  not  less  than  three  millions  of  cubic  feet  of  earth 
were   used   in   this   great    undertaking.       Yet    from    the 


Fig.  202. — Fort  Hill,  Highland  County,  Ohio. 

peculiarly  mottled  character  of  the  earth  forming  these 
mounds,  it  would  appear  to  have  been  brought  in  bags  or 
small  parcels.  It  has  also  been  observed  that  water  is 
almost  invariably  found  within  or  close  to  these  enclosures. 

It  is  remarkable  that  there  is  not  a  single  case  in  which 
counter-works  occur  near  any  of  the  ancient  North 
American  fortifications.  It  is  probable,  therefore,  that 
the  warfare  of  the  mound-builders,  like  that  of  the  more 
modern  Red  Indians,  consisted,  not  of  persevering  sieges, 
but  of  sudden  attacks  and  surprises. 

If  the  purpose  for  which  the  works  belonging  to  the 
first  class  were  erected  is  very  evident,  the  same  cannot 


EARTHWORKS— SACRED   ENCLOSURES     259 

be  said  for  those  which  we  have  now  to  mention.  These 
differ  from  the  preceding  in  their  small  size,  from  the 
ditch  being  inside  the  embankment,  and  from  their  position, 
which  is  often  completely  commanded  by  neighbouring 
heights. 

Dr  Wilson  (vol.  i.  p.  324)  follows  Sir  R.  C.  Hoare  in 
considering  the  position  of  the  ditch  as  being  a  dis- 
tinguishing mark  between  military  and  religious  works. 
Catlin,  however,  tells  us  that  in  a  Mandan  village,  which 
he  describes,  the  ditch  was  on  the  inner  side  of  the 
embankment,  and  the  warriors  were  thus  sheltered  while 
they  shot  their  arrows  through  the  stockade.  We  see, 
therefore,  that  in  America,  at  least,  this  is  no  certain 
guide. 

While,  however,  the  defensive  earthworks  occupy  hill- 
tops and  other  situations  most  easy  to  defend,  the  so- 
called  sacred  enclosures  are  generally  found  on  "  the 
broad  and  level  river  bottoms,  seldom  occurring  upon 
the  table-lands  or  where  the  surface  of  the  ground  is 
undulating  or  broken,"  They  are  usually  square  or 
circular  in  form  ;  a  circular  enclosure  being  often  com- 
bined with  one  or  two  squares.  Occasionally  they  are 
isolated,  but  more  frequently  in  groups.  The  greater 
number  of  the  circles  are  of  small  size,  with  a  nearly 
uniform  diameter  of  250  or  300  feet,  and  the  ditch  is 
invariably  inside  the  wall.  Some  of  the  circles,  however, 
are  larger,  enclosing  50  acres  or  more.  The  squares  or 
other  rectangular  works  never  have  a  ditch,  and  the 
earth  of  which  they  are  composed  appears  to  have  been 
taken  up  evenly  from  the  surface,  or  from  large  pits  in 
the  neighbourhood.  They  vary  much  in  size  ;  five  or 
six  of  them,  however,  are  "  exact  squares,  each  side 
measuring  1080  feet — a  coincidence  which  could  not 
possibly  be  accidental,  and  which  must  possess  some 
significance."  The  circles  also,  in  spite  of  their  great 
size,  are  so  nearly  round,  that  the  American  archaeologists 
consider  themselves  justified  in  concluding  that  the  mound- 
builders  must  have  had  some  standard  of  measurement, 
and  some  means  of  determining  angles. 


26o 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


The  most  remarkable  group  is  that  near  Newark,  in  the 
Scioto  Valley,  which  covers  an  area  of  four  square  miles  ! 
(fig.  203).  A  plan  of  these  gigantic  works  is  given  by- 
Messrs  Squier  and  Davis,  and  another,  from  a  later 
survey,  by  Mr  Wilson.  They  consist  of  an  octagon,  with 
an  area  of  50,  a  square  occupying  20  acres,  and  two  large 
circles  occupying  respectively  30  and  20  acres.  From 
the  octagon  an  avenue  formed  by  parallel  walls  extends 
southwards   for   2^  miles  ;   there  are  two  other  avenues 


Fig.  203. — Village  enclosures  near  Newark,  Ohio. 

which   are    rather    more   than    a    mile   in   length,   one  of 
them  connecting  the  octagon  with  the  square. 

Besides  these,  there  are  various  other  embankments 
and  small  circles,  the  greater  number  about  80  feet  in 
diameter,  but  some  few  much  larger.  The  walls  of  these 
small  circles,  as  well  as  those  of  the  avenues  and  of  the 
irregular  portions  of  the  works  generally,  are  very  slight, 
and  for  the  most  part  about  4  feet  in  height.  The  other 
embankments  are  much  more  considerable  ;  the  walls 
of  the  large  circle  are  even  now  12  feet  high,  with  a 
base  of  50  feet,  and  an  interior  ditch  7  feet  deep  and 
35  in  width.  At  the  gateway,  however,  they  are  still 
more  imposing;   the  walls  being   16  feet  high,  and  the 


EARTHWORKS— VILLAGE  ENCLOSURES    261 

ditch  13  feet  deep.  The  whole  area  is  covered  with 
"  gigantic  trees  of  a  primitive  forest "  ;  and,  say  Messrs 
Squier  and  Davis,  "  in  entering  the  ancient  avenue  for 
the  first  time,  the  visitor  does  not  fail  to  experience  a 
sensation  of  awe,  such  as  he  might  feel  in  passing  the 
portals  of  an  Egyptian  temple,  or  gazing  upon  the  silent 
ruins  of  Petra  of  the  Desert." 

The  city  of  Circleville  takes  its  name  from  one  of  these 
embankments,  which,  however,  is  no  more  remarkable 
than  many  others.  It  consists  of  a  square  and  a  circle, 
touching  one  another  ;  the  sides  of  the  square  being 
about  900  feet  in  length,  and  the  circle  a  little  more  than 
1000  feet  in  diameter.  The  square  had  eight  doorways, 
one  at  each  angle,  and  one  in  the  middle  of  each  side, 
every  doorway  being  protected  by  a  mound.  The  circle 
was  peculiar  in  having  a  double  embankment.  This 
work,  alas  !  has  been  entirely  destroyed  ;  and  many 
others  have  also  disappeared,  or  are  being  gradually 
obliterated  by  the  plough.  Under  these  circumstances, 
we  read  with  pleasure  that  "  the  Directors  of  the  Ohio 
Land  Company,  when  they  took  possession  of  the  country 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum  River,  in  1788,  adopted 
immediate  measures  for  the  preservation  of  these  monu- 
ments. To  their  credit  be  it  said,  one  of  their  earliest 
official  acts  was  the  passage  of  a  resolution,  which  is 
entered  upon  the  Journal  of  their  proceedings,  reserving 
the  two  truncated  pyramids  and  the  great  mound,  with 
a  few  acres  attached  to  each,  as  public  squares."  Such 
enlightened  conduct  deserves  the  thanks  of  archaeologists. 

Another  group  of  earthworks  in  Wisconsin  is  interest- 
ing as  presenting  a  resemblance  to  a  fortified  town.  It 
was  situated  on  the  west  branch  of  Rock  River,  discovered 
in  1836  by  N.  F.  Hyer,  Esq.,  who  surveyed  them  roughly, 
and  published  a  brief  description,  with  a  figure,  in  the 
Milwaukee  Advertiser.  The  most  complete  description  is 
contained  in  Mr  Lapham's  Antiquities  of  Wisconsin}  The 
name  "  Aztalan  "  was  given  to  this  place  by  Mr  Hycr, 
because  the  Aztecs  had  a  tradition    that   they  originally 

'  P.  41. 


262  PREHISTORIC  TIMES 

came  from  a  country  to  the  north,  which  they  called 
Aztalan.  It  Is  said  to  be  derived  from  two  Mexican 
words,  Atl,  "  water,"  and  An,  "  near."  "  The  main 
feature  of  these  works  is  an  enclosure  of  earth  (not  brick, 
as  has  been  erroneously  stated),  extending  around  three 
sides  of  an  irregular  parallelogram  "  ;  the  river  "  forming 
the  fourth  side  on  the  east.  The  space  thus  enclosed 
contains  lyf  acres.  The  corners  are  not  rectangular, 
and  the  embankment  or  ridge  Is  not  straight."  "  The 
ridge  forming  the  enclosure  is  631  feet  long  at  the  north 
end,  14 1 9  feet  long  on  the  west  side,  and  700  feet  on 
the  south  side  ;  making  a  total  length  of  wall  of  2750 
feet.  The  ridge  or  wall  is  about  22  feet  wide,  and  from 
I  to  5  feet  In  height.  The  wall  of  earth  is  enlarged  on 
the  outside,  at  nearly  regular  distances,  by  mounds  of 
the  same  material.  They  vary  from  61  to  95  feet  apart, 
the  mean  distance  being  82  feet.  Near  the  south-west 
angle  are  two  outworks,  constructed  in  the  same  manner 
as  the  main  embankment." 

In  many  places  the  earth  forming  the  walls  appears  to 
have  been  burnt.  "  Irregular  masses  of  hard  reddish 
clay,  full  of  cavities,  bear  distinct  impressions  of  straw,  or 
rather  wild  hay,  with  which  they  had  been  mixed  before 
burning."  "  This  is  the  only  foundation  for  calling  these 
*  brick  walls.'  The  '  bricks '  were  never  made  into  any 
regular  form,  and  it  is  even  doubtful  whether  the  burning 
did  not  take  place  In  the  wall  after  it  was  built."  These 
walls  must  therefore  present  some  faint  resemblance  to 
the  celebrated  vitrified  forts  of  Scotland.  Some  of  the 
mounds  or  buttresses,  though  forming  part  of  an  en- 
closure, were  also  used  for  sepulchral  purposes,  as  was 
proved  by  their  containing  skeletons  in  a  sitting  posture, 
with  fragments  of  pottery.  The  highest  point  inside  the 
enclosure  is  at  the  south-west  corner,  and  is  "  occupied 
by  a  square  truncated  mound,  which  .  .  .  presents  the 
appearance  of  a  pyramid,  rising  by  successive  steps  like 
the  gigantic  structures  of  Mexico."  "At  the  north-west 
angle  of  the  enclosure  is  another  rectangular,  truncated, 
pyramidal  elevation,  of  sixty-five  feet  level  area  at  the  top. 


AZTALAN—"  CHUNK   YARDS"  263 

with  remains  of  its  graded  way,  or  sloping  ascent,  at  the 
south-west  corner,  leading  also  towards  a  ridge  that 
extends  in  the  direction  of  the  river." 

Within  the  enclosure  are  some  ridges  about  two  feet 
high,  and  connected  with  them  are  several  rings,  or 
circles,  which  are  supposed  to  be  the  remains  of  mud 
houses.  "  Nearly  the  whole  interior  of  the  enclosure 
appears  to  have  been  either  excavated  or  thrown  up  into 
mounds  and  ridges  ;  the  pits  and  irregular  excavations 
being  quite  numerous  over  much  of  the  space  not 
occupied  by  mounds." 

The  last  Indian  occupants  of  this  interesting  locality 
had  no  tradition  as  to  the  history  or  the  purpose  of  these 
earthworks. 

Among  the  Northern  tribes  of  existing  Indians,  there 
do  not  appear  to  be  any  earthworks  corresponding  to 
these  so-called  sacred  enclosures.  "  No  sooner,  however, 
do  we  pass  to  the  southward,  and  arrive  among  the 
Creeks,  Natchez,  and  affiliated  Floridian  tribes,  than  we 
discover  traces  of  structures  which,  if  they  do  not  entirely 
correspond  with  the  regular  earthworks  of  the  West, 
nevertheless  seem  to  be  somewhat  analogous  to  them."^ 
These  tribes,  indeed,  appear  to  have  been  more  civilized 
than  those  of  the  North,  since  they  were  agricultural  in 
their  habits,  lived  in  considerable  towns,  and  had  a 
systematized  religion,  so  that,  in  fact,  they  must  have 
occupied  a  position  intermediate,  as  well  economically  as 
geographically,  between  the  powerful  monarchies  of 
Central  America  and  the  hunting  tribes  of  the  North. 
The  "  structures "  to  which  Mr  Squier  alludes  are 
described  by  him,  both  in  his  Second  Memoir  and  also 
in  the  Ancient  Monuments  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  (p.  120). 
The  "  Chunk  Yards,"  now  or  lately  in  use  among  the 
Creeks,  and  which  have  only  recently  been  abandoned 
among  the  Cherokees,  are  rectangular  areas,  generally 
occupying  the  centre  of  the  town,  closed  at  the  sides,  but 
with  an  opening  at  each  end.  They  are  sometimes  from 
600  to  900  feet  in  length,  being  largest  in  the  older  towns. 
'  Squier,  loc.  cit.^  p.  136. 


264  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

The  area  is  levelled  and  slightly  sunk,  being  surrounded 
by  a  low  bank  formed  of  the  earth  thus  obtained.  In 
the  centre  is  a  low  mound,  on  which  stands  the  Chunk 
Pole,  to  the  top  of  which  is  some  object  which  serves  as 
a  mark  to  shoot  at.  Near  each  corner,  at  one  end,  is  a 
small  pole,  about  twelve  feet  high  ;  these  are  called  the 
"slave  posts,"  because  in  the  "good  old  times"  captives 
condemned  to  the  torture  were  fastened  to  them.  The 
name  "  Chunk  Yard "  seems  to  be  derived  from  an 
Indian  game  called  "  Chunke,"  which  was  played  in 
them.  At  one  end  of,  and  just  outside,  this  area  stands 
generally  a  circular  eminence,  with  a  flat  top,  upon  which 
is  elevated  the  Great  Council  House.  At  the  other  end 
is  a  flat-topped,  square  eminence,  about  as  high  as  the 
circular  one  just  mentioned;  "upon  this  stands  the 
public  square." 

These  and  other  accounts  given  by  early  travellers 
among  the  Indians  throw  much  light  on  the  circular  and 
square  enclosures,  some  of  which,  though  classed  by 
Messrs  Squier  and  Davies  under  this  head,  seem  to  me 
to  be  the  slight  fortifications  which  surrounded  villages, 
and  were  undoubtedly  crowned  by  stockades.  We  have 
already  seen  that  the  position  of  the  ditch  is  no  conclusive 
argument  against  this  view  ;  nor  does  the  position  of  the 
works  seem  conclusive,  if  we  suppose  that  they  were 
intended  less  to  stand  a  regular  siege  than  to  guard 
against  a  sudden  attack. 

The  Sepulchral  Mounds  are  very  numerous  in  the 
central  parts  of  the  United  States.  "  To  say  that  they 
are  innumerable,  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  term,  would 
be  no  exaggeration.  They  may  literally  be  numbered  by 
thousands  and  tens  of  thousands."  They  are  usually 
from  six  to  eight  feet  in  height  ;  generally  stand  outside  the 
enclosures  ;  are  often  isolated,  but  often  also  in  groups  ; 
they  are  usually  round,  but  sometimes  elliptical  or  pear- 
shaped.  They  cover  generally  a  single  interment,  often 
of  burnt  bones.  Occasionally  there  is  a  stone  cist,  but 
urn  burial  also  prevailed  to  a  considerable  extent,  especi- 
ally in  the  South.     The  corpse,  if  not  burnt,  was  generally 


SEPULCHRAL   MOUNDS  265 

buried  in  a  contracted  position.  Implements  both  of 
stone  and  metal  occur  frequently  ;  but  while  personal 
ornaments,  such  as  bracelets,  perforated  plates  of  copper, 
beads  of  bone,  shell  or  metal,  and  similar  objects,  are 
very  common,  weapons  are  but  rarely  found  ;  a  fact 
which,  in  the  opinion  of  Dr  Wilson,  "  indicates  a  totally 
different  condition  of  society  and  mode  of  thought "  from 
those  of  the  present  Indian. 

No  remains  of  the  mastodon,  or  indeed  of  any  extinct 
animals,  have  been  found  in  any  of  the  American  burial 
mounds. 

Some  of  the  tumuli  contain  great  quantities  of  human 
remains.  This  was  long  supposed  to  be  the  case  with 
the  great  Grave  Creek  Mound,  which  indeed  was 
positively  stated  by  Atwater  ^  to  be  full  of  human  remains. 
This  has  turned  out  to  be  an  error,  but  the  statement  is 
not  the  less  true  as  regards  other  mounds.  In  conjunc- 
tion with  them  may  be  mentioned  the  "  bone  pits,"  many 
of  which  are  described  by  Mr  Squier.  "  One  of  these 
pits,"  he  says,  "  discovered  some  years  ago  in  the  town 
of  Cambria,  Niagara  County,  was  estimated  to  contain 
the  bones  of  several  thousand  individuals.  Another 
which  I  visited  in  the  town  of  Clarence,  Erie  County, 
contained  not  less  than  four  hundred  skeletons."  A 
tumulus  described  by  Mr  Jefferson  in  his  Notes  on 
Virginia  was  estimated  to  contain  the  skeletons  of  a 
thousand  individuals,  but  in  this  case  the  number  was 
perhaps  exaggerated. 

The  description  given  by  various  old  writers  of  the 
solemn  "  Festival  of  the  Dead "  satisfactorily  explains 
these  large  collections  of  bones.  It  seems  that  every 
eight  or  ten  years  the  Indians  used  to  meet  at  some  place 
previously  chosen,  that  they  dug  up  their  dead,  collected 
the  bones  together,  and  laid  them  in  one  common  burial- 
place,  depositing  with  them  fine  skins  and  other  valuable 
articles.  Several  of  these  ossuaries  are  described  by 
Schoolcraft.^ 

Another  class  of  mounds,  called  by  Messrs  Squier  and 

'  See  also  Lapham,  loc.  cit.,  p.  80.  ^  Loc.  cit.,  p.  102. 


266  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

Davis  Temple  Mounds^  are  pyramidal  structures,  truncated, 
and  generally  having  graded  avenues  to  their  tops. 
In  some  instances  they  are  terraced,  or  have  successive 
stages.  But  whatever  their  form,  whether  round, 
oval,  octangular,  square,  or  oblong,  they  have  invariably 
flat  or  level  tops,  of  greater  or  lesser  area.  These 
mounds  much  resemble  the  Teocallis  of  Mexico,  and 
had  probably  a  similar  origin.  They  are  rare  in  the 
North,  though  examples  occur  even  as  far  as  Lake 
Superior,  but  become  more  and  more  numerous  as  we 
pass  down  the  Mississippi,  and  especially  on  approaching 
the  Gulf,  where  they  constitute  the  most  numerous  and 
important  portion  of  the  ancient  remains.  Some  of  the 
largest,  however,  are  situated  in  the  North.  One  of  the 
most  remarkable  is  at  Cahokia,  in  Illinois.  This  gigantic 
mound  is  stated  to  be  700  feet  long,  500  feet  wide  at  the 
base,  and  90  feet  in  height.  Its  solid  contents  have  been 
roughly  estimated  at  20,000,000  cubic  feet. 

Probably,  however,  these  mounds  were  not  used  as 
temples  only,  but  also  as  sites  for  dwellings,  especially  for 
those  of  the  chiefs.  We  are  told  that  among  the  Natchez 
Indians  "  the  temples  and  the  dwellings  of  the  chiefs 
were  raised  upon  mounds,  and  for  every  new  chief  a 
new  mound  and  dwelling  were  constructed."  Again, 
Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  in  his  History  of  Florida^  quoted  by 
Mr  Haven,^  says,  "  The  town  and  house  of  the  Cacique 
of  Osachile  are  similar  to  those  of  all  other  caciques 
in  Florida,  and,  therefore,  it  seems  best  to  give  one 
description  that  will  apply  generally  to  all  the  capitals 
and  all  the  houses  of  the  chiefs  in  Florida.  1  say,  then, 
that  the  Indians  endeavour  to  place  their  towns  upon 
elevated  places  ;  but  because  such  situations  are  rare  in 
Florida,  or  that  they  find  a  difficulty  in  procuring  suitable 
materials  for  building,  they  raise  eminences  in  this 
manner.  They  choose  a  place,  to  which  they  bring  a 
quantity  of  earth,  which  they  elevate  into  a  kind  of 
platform  2  or  3  pikes  in  height  (from  18  to  25  feet),  of 
which  the  flat  top  is  capable  of  holding  ten  or  twelve, 

*  Loc.  ciL,  p.  57. 


TEMPLE    MOUNDS— ANIMAL  MOUNDS     267 

fifteen  or  twenty  houses,  to  lodge  the  cacique,  his  family, 
and  suite."  ^ 

Not  the  least  remarkable  of  the  American  antiquities 
are  the  so-called  Animal  Mounds^  which  are  principally, 
though  not  exclusively,  found  in  Wisconsin.  In  this 
district  "  thousands  of  examples  occur  of  gigantic  basso- 
relievos  of  men,  beasts,  birds,  and  reptiles,  all  wrought 
with  persevering  labour  on  the  surface  of  the  soil,"  while 
enclosures  and  works  of  defence  are  almost  entirely 
wanting,  the  "  ancient  city  of  Aztalan "  being,  as  is 
supposed,  the  only  example  of  the  former  class. 

The  Animal  Mounds  were  discovered  by  Mr  Lapham 
in  1836,  and  described  in  the  newspapers  of  the  day, 
but  the  first  account  of  them  in  any  scientific  journal 
was  that  by  Mr  R.  C.  Taylor,  in  the  American  Journal  of 
Science  and  An,  for  April  1838.  Messrs  Squier  and 
Davis  devoted  to  them  a  part  of  their  work  on  the 
Ancient  Monuments  of  the  Mississippi  Valley ;  but  the 
seventh  volume  of  the  Smithsonian  Contributions  con- 
tains the  work,  by  Mr  Lapham,  which  gives  the  most 
complete  account  of  these  interesting  remains. 

Mr  Lapham  adds  a  map,  showing  the  distribution  of 
these  curious  earthworks.  They  appear  to  be  most 
numerous  in  the  southern  counties  of  Wisconsin  ;  and 
extend  from  the  Mississippi  to  Lake  Michigan,  following 
generally  the  course  of  the  river,  and  being  especially 
numerous  along  the  great  Indian  trail,  or  war-path,  from 
Lake  Michigan,  near  Milwaukee,  to  the  Mississippi, 
above  the  Prairie  du  Chien.  This,  however,  does  not 
prove  any  connection  between  the  present  Indians  and 
the  mounds  ;  the  same  line  has  been  adopted  as  the  route 
of  the  United  States'  military  road,  and  may  have  been  in 
use  for  an  indefinite  period. 

The  mounds  themselves  not  only  represent  animals,  such 
as  men,  buflfaloes,  elks,  bears,  otters,  wolves,  racoons,  birds, 
serpents,  lizards,  turtles,  and  frogs,  but  also  some  inanimate 
objects,  if  at  least  the  American  archaeologists  are  right  in 
regarding  some  of  them  as  crosses,  tobacco-pipes,  etc. 
'  See  also  Schoolcraft,  loc.  ctt.,  vol.  iii.  p.  47, 


268  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

Many  of  the  representations  are  spirited  and  correct, 
but  others,  probably  through  the  action  of  time,  are  less 
definite  ;  one,  for  instance,  near  the  village  of  Muscoda, 
may  be  either  "  a  bird,  a  bow  and  arrow,  or  the  human 
figure."  Their  height  varies  from  i  to  4  feet,  some- 
times, however,  rising  to  6  feet  ;  and  as  a  "  regular  elevation 
of  six  inches  can  be  readily  traced  upon  the  level  prairies  " 
of  the  West,  their  outlines  are  generally  distinctly 
defined  where  they  occupy  favourable  positions.  It  is 
probable,  however,  that  many  of  the  details  have  dis- 
appeared   under   the   action  of  rain  and  vegetation.     At 


1 1 


% 


Fig.  204. — Plan  ot  an  eagle  mound,  Honey  Creek  Mills,  Wis. 

present  a  "  man  "  consists  generally  of  a  head  and  body, 
two  long  arms  and  two  short  legs,  no  other  details  being 
visible.  The  "  birds  "  differ  from  the  "  men  "  principally 
in  the  absence  of  legs.  The  so-called  "  lizards,"  which 
are  among  the  most  common  forms,  have  a  head,  two 
legs,  and  a  long  tail  ;  the  side  view  being  represented,  as 
is,  indeed,  the  case  with  most  of  the  quadrupeds.  One 
mound  has  been  supposed  to  represent  a  mastodon,  but 
the  similarity  is,  I  think,  far  from  conclusive.^ 

One  remarkable  group  in  Dale  County,  close  to  the 
great  Indian  war-path,  consists  of  a  man  with  extended 
arms,  seven  more  or  less  elongated  mounds,  one  tumulus, 
and  six  quadrupeds.     The  length  of  the  human  figure  is 

125  feet,  and  it  is  140  feet  from  the  extremity  of  one  arm 
to  that  of  the  other.     The  quadrupeds  vary  from   90  to 

126  feet  in  length. 

'   M'Lean,  T/ie  Mound-builders. 


ANIMAL   MOUNDS 


269 


At  Waukesha  are  a  number  of  mounds,  tumuli,  and 
animals,  including  several  "  lizards,"  a  very  fine  "  bird," 
and  a  magnificent  "  turtle."  "  This,  when  first  observed, 
was  a  very  fine  specimen  of  the  art  of  mound-building, 
with  its  graceful  curves,  the  feet  projecting  back  and 
forward,  and  the  tail,  with  its  gradual  slope,  so  acutely 
pointed,  that  it  was  impossible  to  ascertain  precisely  where 
it  terminated.  The  body  was  ^6  feet  in  length,  and  the 
tail  250  ;  the  height  6  feet."  This  group  of  mounds  is 
now,  alas,  covered  with  buildings  :  "  A  dwelling-house 
stands    on    the    body   of  ,/^ 

the  turtle,  and  a  Catholic 
church  is  built  upon  the 
tail." 

"  But,"  says  Mr  Lap- 
ham,  "  the  most  remark- 
able collection  of  lizards 
and  turtles  yet  discovered 
is  on  the  school  section 
about  a  mile  and  a  half 
south-east  from  the  vil- 
lage of  Pewaukee.  This 
consists  of  seven  turtles,  two  lizards,  four  oblong  mounds, 
and  one  of  the  remarkable  excavations  before  alluded  to. 
One  of  the  turtle  mounds,  partially  obliterated  by  the 
road,  has  a  length  of  450  feet,  being  nearly  double  the 
usual  dimensions.  Three  of  them  are  remarkable  for 
their  curved  tails,  a  feature  here  first  observed." 

In  several  places  a  curious  variation  occurs.  The 
animals,  with  the  usual  form  and  size,  are  represented, 
not  in  relief,  but  intaglio  ;  not  by  a  mound,  but  by  an 
excavation. 

The  Animal  Mounds  which  have  been  observed  out 
of  Wisconsin  differ  in  many  respects  from  the  ordinary 
type.  Near  Granville,  in  Ohio,  on  a  higher  spur  of  land, 
is  an  earthwork,  known  in  the  neighbourhood  as  the 
"Alligator"  (fig.  205).  It  has  a  head  and  body,  four 
sprawling  legs,  and  a  curled  tail.  The  total  length  is 
250  feet,  the  breadth  of  the  body  40  feet,  and  the  length 


Fig.  205.- 


-Alligator  mound,  Granville, 
Ohio. 


270  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

of  the  legs  36  feet.  "  The  head,  shoulders,  and  rump  are 
more  elevated  than  the  other  parts  of  the  body,  an  attempt 
having  evidently  been  made  to  preserve  the  proportions 
of  the  object  copied."  The  average  height  is  4  feet,  at 
the  shoulders  6  feet.  Even  more  remarkable  is  the  great 
serpent  in  Adams  County,  Ohio.  It  is  situated  on  a  high 
spur  of  land  which  rises  150  feet  above  Brush  Creek. 
"  Conforming  to  the  curve  of  the  hill,  and  occupying  its 
very  summit,  is  the  serpent,  its  head  resting  near  the 
point,  and  its  body  winding  back  for  700  feet,  in  graceful 
undulations,  terminating  in  a  triple  coil  at  the  tail.  The 
entire  length,  if  extended,  would  be  not  less  than  1000 
feet.  The  work  is  clearly  and  boldly  defined,  the 
embankment  being  upwards  of  5  feet  in  height,  by 
30  feet  base  at  the  centre  of  the  body,  but  diminishing 
somewhat  toward  the  head  and  tail.  The  neck  of  the 
serpent  is  stretched  out,  and  slightly  curved,  and  its 
mouth  is  opened  wide,  as  if  in  the  act  of  swallowing  or 
ejecting  an  oval  figure,  which  rests  partially  within  the 
distended  jaws.  This  oval  is  formed  by  an  embankm.ent 
of  earth,  without  any  perceptible  opening,  4  feet  in 
height,  and  is  perfectly  regular  in  outline,  its  transverse 
and  conjugate  diameters  being  160  and  80  feet  re- 
spectively." 

When,  why,  or  by  whom  these  remarkable  works 
were  erected,  as  yet  we  know  not.  The  Indian  tribes, 
though  they  look  upon  them  with  reverence,  have  thrown 
no  light  upon  their  origin.  Nor  do  the  contents  of  the 
mounds  themselves  assist  us  in  this  inquiry.  Several  of 
them  have  been  opened,  and,  in  making  the  streets  of 
Milwaukie,  many  of  the  mounds  have  been  entirely 
removed  ;  but  the  only  result  has  been  to  show  that  they 
are  not  sepulchral,  and  that,  excepting  by  accident,  they 
contain  no  implements  or  ornaments. 

Under  these  circumstances  speculation  would  be 
useless  ;  we  can  but  wait,  and  hope  that  time  and 
perseverance  may  solve  the  problem,  and  explain  the 
nature  of  these  remarkable  and  mysterious  monuments. 

There    is    one    class  of  objects  which  I   have  not  yet 


THE   DIGHTON   ROCK  271 

mentioned,  and  which  yet  ought  not  to  be  left  entirely 
unnoticed. 

The  most  remarkable  of  these  is  the  celebrated  Dighton 
Rock,  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Taunton  River.  Its 
history,  and  the  various  conclusions  which  have  been 
derived  from  it,  are  very  amusingly  given  by  Dr  Wilson.^ 
In  1783,  the  Rev.  Ezra  Stiles,  D.D.,  President  of  Yale 
College,  appealed  to  this  rock,  inscribed,  as  he  believed, 
with  Phoenician  characters,  for  a  proof  that  the  Indians 
were  descended  from  Canaan,  and  were  therefore  accursed. 
Count  de  Gebelin  regarded  the  inscription  as  Carthaginian. 
In  the  eighth  volume  of  the  Anhaologia,  Colonel  Vallency 
endeavours  to  prove  that  it  is  Siberian  ;  while  certain 
Danish  antiquaries  regard  it  as  Runic,  and  thought  that  they 
could  read  the  name  "  Thorfinn,"  "  with  an  exact,  though 
by  no  means  so  manifest,  enumeration  of  the  associates 
who,  according  to  the  Saga,  accompanied  Karlsefne's 
expedition  to  Vinland,  in  a.d.  1007."  Finally,  Mr 
Schoolcraft  submitted  a  copy  of  it  to  Chingwauk,  an 
intelligent  Indian  chief,  who  "  interpreted  it  as  the  record 
of  an  Indian  triumph  over  some  rival  native  tribe,"  but 
without  offering  any  opinion  as  to  its  antiquity. 

In  the  "  Grave  Creek  Mound  "  is  said  to  have  been 
found  a  small  oval  disk  of  white  sandstone,  on  which 
were  engraved  twenty-two  letters.  I  mention  it  because 
it  has  been  the  subject  of  much  discussion,  but  it  is  now 
generally  admitted  to  be  a  fraud.  It  is  inscribed  with 
Hebrew  characters,  but  the  forger  has  copied  the  modern 
instead  of  the  ancient  forms  of  the  letters. 

One  or  two  other  equally  unsatisfactory  cases  are  upon 
record,  but  upon  the  whole  we  may  safely  assert  that 
there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  nations  of  America 
had  developed  for  themselves  anything  corresponding  to 
an  alphabet.  The  art  of  picture-writing,  which  they 
shared  with  the  Aztecs  and  the  Quipa  of  the  Peruvians, 
was  supplemented  among  the  North  American  Indians  by 
the  "wampum."  This  curious  substitute  for  writing 
consisted  of  variously-coloured  beads,  generally  worked 
^  Prehistoric  Man^  vol.  ii.  p.  172. 


272  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

upon  leather.  One  very  interesting  example  is  the  belt 
of  wampum  "delivered  by  the  Lenni  Lenape  Sachems  to 
the  founder  of  Pennsylvania,  at  the  Great  Treaty,  under 
the  elm-tree  at  Shachamox  in  1682."  It  is  still  pre- 
served in  the  collection  of  the  Historical  Society  at 
Philadelphia,  and  consists  of  "  eighteen  strings  of 
wampum  formed  of  white  and  violet  beads  worked  upon 
leather  thongs,"  the  whole  forming  a  belt  28  inches  long 
and  2^  broad.  "  On  this,  five  patterns  are  worked  in 
violet  beads  on  a  white  ground,  and  in  the  centre  Penn 
is  represented  taking  the  hand  of  the  Indian  Sachem." 
The  numerous  beads  found  in  some  of  the  tumuli  were 
perhaps  in  a  similar  manner  intended  to  commemorate 
the  actions  and  virtues  of  the  dead. 

Just  as  the  wigwam  of  the  recent  Mandan  consisted  of 
an  outer  layer  of  earth  supported  on  a  wooden  frame- 
work, so  also,  in  the  ancient  sepulchral  tumuli,  the  body 
was  protected  only  by  beams  and  planks  ;  when  therefore 
these  latter  decayed,  the  earth  sank  in  and  crushed  the 
skeleton  within.  Partly  from  this  cause,  and  partly  from 
the  habit  of  burying  in  ancient  tumuli,  which  makes  it 
sometimes  difficult  to  distinguish  the  primary  from 
secondary  interments,  it  happens  that  from  so  many 
thousand  tumuli  we  have  very  few  well-preserved  skulls 
which  indisputably  belong  to  the  ancient  race.  These 
are  decidedly  brachycephalic  ;  but  it  is  evident  that  we 
must  not  attempt  to  build  much  upon  so  slight  a  basis. 

No  proof  of  a  knowledge  of  letters,  no  trace  of  a  burnt 
brick,  have  yet  been  discovered  ;  and  so  far  as  we  may 
judge  from  their  arms,  ornaments,  and  pottery,  the 
mound-builders  closely  resembled  the  more  advanced 
of  the  recent  Indian  tribes,  and  the  earthworks  agree  in 
form  with,  if  they  differ  in  magnitude  from  those  still,  or 
until  lately,  in  use.  Yet  this  very  magnitude  is  sufficient  to 
show  that,  at  some  early  period,  the  great  river  valleys  of 
the  United  States  must  have  been  more  densely  populated 
than  they  were  when  first  discovered  by  Europeans. 
The  immense  number  of  small  earthworks,  and  the 
mounds,  "which  may  be  counted  by  thousands  and   tens 


POPULATION— AGRICULTURE  273 

of  thousands,"  might  indeed  be  supposed  to  indicate 
either  a  long  time  or  a  great  population  ;  but  in  other 
cases  we  have  no  such  alternative.  The  Newark  con- 
structions ;  the  mound  near  Florence  in  Alabama,  which 
is  45  feet  in  height  by  440  feet  in  circumference  at  the 
base,  with  a  level  area  at  the  summit  of  150  feet  in  cir- 
cumference ;  the  still  greater  mound  on  the  Etowah 
river,  also  in  Alabama,  which  has  a  height  of  more  than 
75  feet,  with  a  circumference  of  1200  feet  at  the  base, 
and  140  at  the  summit  ;  the  embankments  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Scioto  river,  which  are  estimated  to  be  twenty  miles 
in  length  ;  the  great  mound  at  Selserstown,  Mississippi, 
which  covers  six  acres  of  ground  ;  and  the  truncated 
pyramid  at  Cahokia,  to  which  we  have  already  alluded  : 
these  works,  and  many  others  which  might  have  been 
quoted,  indicate  a  population  both  large  and  stationary  ; 
for  which  hunting  cannot  have  supplied  enough  food,  as 
it  has  been  estimated  that  in  a  forest  country  each  hunter 
requires  an  area  of  not  less  than  50,000  acres  for  his 
support  ;  and  which  must,  therefore,  have  derived  its 
support,  in  a  great  measure,  from  agriculture.  "There 
is  not,"  say  Messrs  Squier  and  Davis,  "  and  there  was 
not  in  the  sixteenth  century,  a  single  tribe  of  Indians 
(north  of  the  semi-civilized  nations)  between  the  Atlantic 
and  the  Pacific,  which  had  means  of  subsistence  sufficient 
to  enable  them  to  apply,  for  such  purposes,  the  unpro- 
ductive labour  necessary  for  the  work  ;  nor  was  there 
any  in  such  a  social  state  as  to  compel  the  labour  of  the 
people  to  be  thus  applied."  We  know  also  that  many, 
if  not  most  of  the  Indian  tribes,  at  that  time  still  cultivated 
the  ground  to  a  certain  extent,  and  there  is  some  evidence 
that,  even  within  historic  times,  this  was  more  the  case 
than  at  present.  Thus  De  Nonville  estimates  the  amount 
of  Indian  corn  destroyed  by  him  in  four  Seneca  villages 
at  1,200,000  quarters. 

In  many  places,  moreover,  the  ground  is  covered  with 
small  mammillary  elevations,  which  are  known  as  Indian 
corn-hills.  "  They  are  without  order  of  arrangement, 
being  scattered  over  the  ground  with  the  greatest  irregu- 

18 


274  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

larity.  That  these  hillocks  were  formed  in  the  manner 
indicated  by  their  name,  is  inferred  from  the  present 
custom  of  the  Indians.  The  corn  is  planted  in  the  same 
spot  each  successive  year,  and  the  soil  is  gradually  brought 
up  to  the  size  of  a  little  hill  by  the  annual  additions." 
But  Mr  Lapham  has  also  found  traces  of  an  earlier  and 
more  systematic  cultivation.  These  consist  "  of  low 
parallel  ridges,  as  if  corn  had  been  planted  in  drills. 
They  average  four  feet  in  width,  twenty-five  of  them 
having  been  counted  in  the  space  of  a  hundred  feet  ; 
and  the  depth  of  the  walk  between  them  is  about  six 
inches.  These  appearances,  which  are  here  denominated 
'  ancient  garden-beds,'  indicate  an  earlier  and  more  perfect 
system  of  cultivation  than  that  which  now  prevails  ;  for 
the  present  Indians  do  not  appear  to  possess  the  ideas  of 
taste  and  order  necessary  to  enable  them  to  arrange 
objects  in  consecutive  rows.  Traces  of  this  kind  of 
cultivation,  though  not  very  abundant,  are  found  in 
several  other  parts  of  the  State  (Wisconsin).  The 
garden-beds  are  of  various  sizes,  covering,  generally, 
from  twenty  to  one  hundred  acres,  though  some  are 
much  larger.  As  a  general  fact,  they  exist  in  the  richest 
soil,  as  it  is  found  in  the  prairies  and  bun  oak  plains. 
in  the  latter  case,  trees  of  the  largest  kind  are  scattered 
over  them." 

\n.th.e.  Ancient  Monuments  of  the  Mississippi  Valley^  it  is 
stated  that  no  earthwork  has  ever  been  found  on  the  first 
or  lowest  terrace  of  any  of  the  great  rivers,  and  that 
"  this  observation  is  confirmed  by  all  who  have  given 
attention  to  the  subject."  If  true,  this  would  indeed 
have  indicated  a  great  antiquity,  but  in  his  subsequent 
work  Mr  Squier  informs  us  that  "  they  occur  indiscrimin- 
ately upon  the  first  and  upon  the  superior  terraces,  as 
also  upon  the  islands  of  the  lakes  and  rivers."  Messrs 
Squier  and  Davis  ^  are  of  opinion  that  the  decayed  state 
of  the  skeletons  found  in  the  mounds  may  enable  us  to 
form  "  some  approximate  estimate  of  their  remote  anti- 
quity," especially  when  we  consider  that  the  earth  round 

^  Loc.  cit.,  p.  1 68. 


ANTIQUITY  OF  EARTHWORKS         275 

them  "  is  wonderfully  compact  and  dry,  and  that  the 
conditions  for  their  preservation  are  exceedingly  favour- 
able." "  In  the  barrows  of  the  ancient  Britons,"  they 
add,  "  entire  well-preserved  skeletons  are  found,  although 
possessing  an  undoubted  antiquity  of  at  least  eighteen 
hundred  years."  Dr  Wilson  ^  also  relies  much  on  this 
fact,  which,  in  his  opinion,  "  furnishes  a  stronger  evidence 
of  their  great  antiquity  than  any  of  the  proofs  that  have 
been  derived  either  from  the  age  of  a  subsequent  forest 
growth,  or  the  changes  wrought  on  the  river  terraces  where 
they  most  abound."  It  is  true  that  the  bones  in  Stone 
Age  graves  are  often  extremely  well  preserved  ;  but  it  is 
equally  true  that  those  in  Saxon  barrows  have  in  many 
cases  entirely  perished.  In  fact,  the  condition  of  ancient 
bones  depends  so  much  on  the  circumstances  in  which 
they  have  been  placed,  that  we  must  not  attribute  much 
importance  to  this  argument. 

The  evidence  derived  from  the  forests  is  more  to  be 
relied  on.  Thus  Captain  Peck^  observed  near  the 
Ontonagon  river,  and  at  a  depth  of  twenty-five  feet, 
some  stone  mauls  and  other  implements  in  contact  with 
a  vein  of  copper.  Above  these  was  the  fallen  trunk  of 
a  large  cedar,  and  "  over  all  grew  a  hemlock-tree,  the 
roots  of  which  spread  entirely  above  the  fallen  tree," 
.  .  .  and  indicated,  in  his  estimation,  a  growth  of  not 
less  than  three  centuries,  to  which  must  then  be  added 
the  age  of  the  cedar,  which  indicates  a  still  "  longer 
succession  of  centuries,  subsequent  to  that  protracted 
period  during  which  the  deserted  trench  was  slowly  filled 
up  with  accumulations  of  many  winters." 

The  late  President  Harrison,  in  an  address  to  the 
Historical  Society  of  Ohio,  made  some  interesting  remarks 
on  this  subject,  which  are  quoted  by  Messrs  Squier  and 
Davis. ^  "The  process,"  he  says,  "by  which  nature 
restores  the  forest  to  its  original  state,  after  being  once 
cleared,  is  extremely  slow.  The  rich  lands  of  the  west 
are,  indeed,  soon  covered  again,  but  the  character  of  the 

^  Loc.  cit.,  vol.  i.  p.  359. 

^  Wilson,  loc.  ctt.,  vol.  i.  p.  256.  ^  Loc.  cii.,  p.  306. 


276  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

growth  is  entirely  different,  and  continues  so  for  a  long 
period.  In  several  places  upon  the  Ohio,  and  upon  the 
farm  which  I  occupy,  clearings  were  made  in  the  first 
settlement  of  the  country,  and  subsequently  abandoned 
and  suffered  to  grow  up.  Some  of  these  new  forests  are 
now  of  fifty  years'  growth,  but  they  have  made  so  little 
progress  towards  attaining  the  appearance  of  the  im- 
mediately contiguous  forest,  as  to  induce  any  man  of 
reflection  to  determine  that  at  least  ten  times  fifty  years 
must  elapse  before  their  complete  assimilation  be  effected. 
We  find  in  the  ancient  works  all  that  variety  of  trees 
which  give  such  unrivalled  beauty  to  our  forests,  in 
natural  proportions.  The  first  growth  of  the  same  kind 
of  land,  once  cleared  and  then  abandoned  to  nature,  on 
the  contrary,  is  nearly  homogeneous,  often  stinted  to  one 
or  two,  at  most  three  kinds  of  timber.  If  the  ground 
has  been  cultivated,  the  yellow  locust  will  quickly  spring 
up  ;  if  not  cultivated,  the  black  and  white  walnut  will  be 
the  prevailing  growth.  ...  Of  what  immense  age,  then, 
must  be  the  works  so  often  referred  to,  covered  as  they 
are  by  at  least  the  second  growth,  after  the  primitive 
forest  state  was  regained  !  "  ^ 

We  obtain  another  indication  of  antiquity  in  the 
"  garden-beds,"  which  we  have  already  described.  This 
system  of  cultivation  has  long  been  replaced  by  the 
irregular  "  corn-hills  "  ;  and  yet,  according  to  Mr  Lapham,^ 
the  garden-beds  are  much  more  recent  than  some  of  the 
mounds,  across  which  they  sometimes  extend  in  the  same 
manner  as  over  the  adjoining  grounds.  If,  therefore, 
these  mounds  belong  to  the  same  area  as  those  which  are 
covered  with  wood,  we  get  thus  indications  of  three 
periods  :  the  first,  that  of  the  mounds  themselves  ;  the 
second,  that  of  the  garden-beds  ;  and  the  third,  that  of 
the  forests. 

But  American  agriculture  was  not  imported  from 
abroad  ;  it  resulted  from,  and  in  return  rendered  possible, 
the  gradual  development  of  American  semi-civilization. 
This  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  the  grains  of   the  Old 

1  See  also  Arch.  Ajuer.,  vol.  i.  p.  306.  ^  r.or.  cit.,  p.  19. 


ANTIQUITY  OF  EARTHWORKS         277 

World  were  entirely  absent,  and  that  American  agriculture 
was  founded  on  the  maize,  an  American  plant.  Thus, 
therefore,  we  appear  to  have  indications  of  four  long 
periods  : 

(i)  That  in  which,  from  an  original  barbarism,  the 
American  tribes  developed  a  knowledge  of  agriculture 
and  a  power  of  combination, 

(2)  That  in  which  for  the  first  time  mounds  were 
erected,  and  other  great  works  undertaken. 

(3)  The  age  of  the  "  garden-beds,"  which  occupy  some 
at  least  of  the  mounds.  Hence  it  is  probable  that  these 
particular  "  garden-beds  "  were  not  in  use  until  after  the 
mounds  had  lost  their  sacred  character  in  the  eyes  of  the 
occupants  of  the  soil  ;  for  it  can  hardly  be  supposed  that 
works  executed  with  so  much  care  would  be  thus  desecrated 
by  their  builders. 

(4)  The  period  in  which  man  relapsed  into  partial  bar- 
barism, and  the  spots  which  had  been  first  forest,  then, 
perhaps,  sacred  monuments,  and  thirdly,  cultivated 
ground,  relapsed  into  forest  once  more. 

But  even  if  we  attribute  to  these  changes  all  the  im- 
portance which  has  ever  been  claimed  for  them,  they  will 
not  require  an  antiquity  of  more  than  three  thousand 
years.  I  do  not,  of  course,  deny  that  the  period  may 
have  been,  and  in  all  probability  was,  very  much  greater. 
There  are,  moreover,  other  observations,  which  appear 
to  indicate  a  very  much  higher  antiquity. 

Dr  A.  C.  Koch  ^  records  the  case  of  a  mastodon  found 
in  Gasconade  County,  Missouri,  which  had  apparently 
been  stoned  to  death  by  the  Indians,  and  then  partially 
consumed  by  fire. 

The  same  writer  mentions  a  second  case  in  which 
several  stone  arrow-heads  were  found  mingled  with  the 
bones  of  a  mastodon.  These  statements,  however,  are 
not  generally  accepted  by  geologists,  and  the  evidence  in 
support  of  them  is,  to  say  the  least,  very  doubtful. 

In  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  Dr  Dickeson,  of  Natchez, 
found  the  os  innominatum  of  a  man  with  some  bones  of 

'   Trans,  of  the  Academy  of  Science  of  St  Louts,  1857,  P-  61. 


278  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

the  Mastodon  ohioticus^  which  had  fallen  from  the  side  of  a 
cliff  undermined  by  a  rivulet.  This  case,  however,  is 
also  open  to  doubt,  and  Sir  C.  Lyell  was  of  opinion  that 
this  bone  might  have  been  derived  from  one  of  the  Indian 
graves,  which  are  very  numerous  in  this  locality.  Dr 
Usher,  on  the  contrary,^  regards  it  as  "  an  undoubted 
fossil,"  belonging  to  the  same  period  as  the  remains  of 
the  mastodon  with  which  it  was  discovered.  Count 
Pourtalis  records  the  discovery  of  some  human  bones  in 
a  calcareous  conglomerate,  estimated  by  Agassiz  to  be  ten 
thousand  years  old,  though  it  must  be  added  that  this 
calculation  has  been  disputed  by  the  Count  himself. 

The  so-called  "  Calaveras "  skull  was  found  in  the 
county  so  named  by  Mr  Mattison,  who  assures  us  that 
he  took  it  with  his  own  hands  from  a  bed  of  gravel  130 
feet  from  the  surface  and  under  four  layers  of  lava.  The 
antiquity  of  this  skull  has  been  much  questioned,  but 
Mr  Whitney  seems  to  feel  no  doubt  on  the  subject.  He 
maintains  ^  that  the  chemical  condition  proves  that  it  is 
of  considerable  antiquity  and  not  a  mere  modern  skull, 
as  some  have  supposed.  Of  course  if  it  really  belonged 
to  the  bed  in  which  Mr  Mattison  supposes  that  it  was 
found,  it  must  be  of  great  antiquity,  but  we  do  not  know 
enough  of  the  locality  to  be  able  to  form  even  a  vague 
idea  of  its  age.  Dr  Wright  believes  it  to  be  genuine, 
and  mentions  the  occurrence  of  a  stone  mortar  in  the 
same  gravel  bed.  This  discovery,  however,  suggests 
doubt  as  to  its  great  antiquity.^ 

Dr  Douler  obtained  from  an  excavation  near  New 
Orleans  some  charcoal  and  a  human  skeleton,  to  which 
he  was  inclined  to  attribute  an  antiquity  of  no  less  than 
fifty  thousand  years.  The  plain  on  which  the  city  of 
New  Orleans  is  built,  and  which  rises  only  about  ten  feet 
above  the  sea-level,  consists  of  alluvial  soil,  which  has 
been  proved  by  borings  to  have  a  depth  of  more  than 
five  hundred  feet,  and  which  contains  several   successive 

1  Dr  Usher,  in  Nott  and  Gliddon's  Types  of  Mankind,  p.  344. 

2  Whitney,  Auriferous  Gravels  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  p.  271. 
^  Wright,  Man  and  tJte  Glacial  Period. 


ANCIENT  MAN  279 

layers  of  cypresses.  The  river  banks  show  similar  re- 
mains of  ancient  forests,  and  Messrs  Dickeson  and  Brown 
have  found  remains  of  no  less  than  ten  cypress  forests  at 
different  levels  below  the  present  surface.  These  trees 
are  not  unfrequently  as  much  as  ten  feet  in  diameter,  and 
there  are  from  95  to  120  rings  in  an  inch.  The  human 
skeleton  above  referred  to  was  found  at  a  depth  of  sixteen 
feet,  and  beneath  the  roots  of  a  cypress-tree  belonging  to 
the  fourth  forest  level  below  the  surface.^  Dr  Andrews, 
indeed,  in  a  letter  cited  by  Mr  Southall,^  questions  this 
calculation.  He  maintains  that  the  accretion  of  river 
mud  in  the  region  of  the  lower  Mississippi  is  very  rapid, 
and  points  out  as  a  proof  of  this  that  trunks  of  trees  may 
be  seen  standing  in  the  banks  of  the  river,  showing  that 
the  accretion  must  have  been  rapid  enough  to  cover  them 
before  they  had  had  time  to  decay.  Whether,  however,  we 
accept  Dr  Douler's  calculation  or  not,  it  is  obvious  that, 
if  the  statements  are  trustworthy,  this  skeleton  certainly 
must  carry  back  the  existence  of  man  in  America  to  a 
very  distant  period. 

In  another  case  a  piece  of  a  wicker  basket  is  said  to 
have  been  found  in  Louisiana,^  in  association  with 
elephants'  remains.  Lastly,  implements  curiously  re- 
sembling the  Palaeolithic  implements  of  Western  Europe, 
have  been  found  by  Mr  Jones  at  a  depth  of  nine  feet  in 
the  gravel  of  the  Chattahoochee  valley,*  and  by  Mr  Abbott 
in  the  drift  gravels  of  New  Jersey.^ 

On  the  whole,  then,  the  evidence  certainly  seems  to 
indicate  that  man  has  inhabited  America  for  a  considerable 
period,  and  it  is  even  probable,  though  there  may  not  as 
yet  be  any  absolute  proof,  that  he  co-existed  there  with 
the  mammoth  and  mastodon. 

•   Dr  Usher,  in  Nott  and  Gliddon's  Typea  of  Mankind,  p.  338. 

-  Recent  Origin  of  Man,  p.  472. 

■^  Desnoyers,  Cong.  Int.  cT Anthropologie,  p.  98 

■*  Jones,  Ant.  of  the  Southern  Indians,  p.  294. 

'■"  Rep.  of  the  Peabody  Museum,  1878. 


CHAPTER  IX 

QUATERNARY    MAMMALIA 

In  addition  to  those  still  existing,  the  fauna  of  Northern 
Europe  during  the  Palaeolithic  Period  comprised  several 
species  of  mammalia  which  have  either  become  entirely 
extinct,  or  very  much  restricted  in  their  geographical 
distribution,  since  the  appearance  of  man  in  Europe.  The 
principal  of  these  are — 

Ursus  spel^us  (the  cave-bear). 

Ursus  prisms. 

Hyana  spelcea  (the  cave-hyoena). 

Felis  spel^a  (the  cave-lion). 

Elephas  primigenius  (the  mammoth). 

Elephas  antiquus. 

Rhinoceros  tichorhinus  (the  hairy  rhinoceros). 

Rhinoceros  leptorhinus^  Cuv. 

Rhinoceros  hemit^echus. 

Hippopotamus  major  (the  hippopotamus). 

Ovibos  moschatus  (the  musk  ox). 

Megaceros  hibernicus  (the  Irish  elk). 

Equus  fossilis  (the  wild  horse). 

Gulo  luscus  (the  glutton). 

Cervus  tarandus  (the  reindeer). 

Bison  europceus  (the  aurochs). 

Bos  primigenius   (the  urus). 

Besides  many  smaller,  but  very  interesting,  species. 

The  first  ten  of  these  have  been  regarded,  until  lately, 
as  altogether  extinct,  but  recent  researches  have  induced 

many  naturalists  to  regard  some  of   them  as  the  direct 

2S0 


QUATERNARY  MAMMALIA 


281 


ancestors  of  species  still  existing  in  other  parts  of  the 
world,  so  that  the  Irish  elk,  the  elephants,  and  the  three 
species  of  rhinoceros  are  perhaps  the  only  ones  which  have 
left  no  descendants.  Most  of  the  smaller  species  now 
inhabiting  Europe  already  existed  in  quaternary  times, 
from  which  we  may  conclude  that  the  changes  which 
have  taken  place  were  due  to  a  gradual  change  of  circum- 
stances, rather  than  to  any  sudden  cataclysm,  or  general 
destruction  of  life  ;  it  is  also  very  improbable  that  the 
extinction  of  the  different  species  was  simultaneous  ;  and, 


Fig.  206. — Painting  on  the  roof  of  the  cave  ot  Altamira,  Santander,  Spain. 
After  H.  Breuil. 


acting  on  this  idea,  M.  Lartet  has  attempted  ^  to  construct 
a  palaeontological  chronology. 

He  considered  that  we  may  establish  four  divisions, 
namely,  the  age  of  the  cave-bear,  of  the  mammoth  and 
rhinoceros,  of  the  reindeer,  and  of  the  aurochs.  It  is 
evident,  1  think,  that  the  appearance  of  these  mammalia 
in  Europe  was  not  simultaneous,  and  that  their  dis- 
appearance has  been  successive.  The  evidence  is  very 
strong  that  in  Central  and  Western  Europe  the  aurochs 
survived  the  reindeer,  and  that  the  reindeer,  on  the  other 
hand,  lived  on  to  a  later  period  than  the  mammoth  or 
the  woolly-haired  rhinoceros.     But  the  chronological  dis- 

'  Ajin.  des  Set.  Nat.,  1861,  p.  217. 


282  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

tinction  between  these  two  species  and  the  cave-bear  does 
not  appear  to  be  so  well  established.  Admitting  that 
the  cave-bear  has  not  yet  been  found  in  the  river  gravels 
of  the  Somme  valley,  we  must  remember  that  the  animal 
was  essentially  a  cave-dweller,  and  that  its  absence  is, 
perhaps,  to  be  attributed  rather  to  the  absence  of  caves 
than  to  the  extinction  of  the  species.  Moreover,  the 
bones  found  in  the  gravel  are  very  much  broken,  and  are 
seldom  in  such  a  condition  as  to  enable  the  palaeontologist 
to  distinguish  the  remains  of  U.  spelceus  from  those  of 
other  large  bears. 

There  is  as  yet  no  evidence  that  the  cave-bear  existed 
in  Europe  before  the  commencement  of  the  quaternary 
period,  when  it  appears  to  have  been  abundant  in  Central 
Europe  and  in  the  southern  parts  of  Russia.  It  has  not 
yet  been  found  in  Siberia,^  it  is  doubtful  whether  it  has 
been  discovered  north  of  the  Baltic,  nor  has  it  yet  been 
found  in  Spain  or  in  Ireland.  In  Italy,  on  the  contrary, 
it  has  been  met  with,  and  in  one  instance  apparently  in 
association  with  a  polished  stone  implement,  and  even 
pottery.^  M.  Regnoli  has  been  so  good  as  to  forward 
me  a  cast  of  the  specimen  on  which  this  statement  rests  ; 
it  belongs  to  the  cave-bear,  but  I  can  hardly  regard  it  as 
being  undoubtedly  contemporaneous  with  the  pottery 
and  stone  axe  which  were  found  near  it.  In  Northern 
Europe  no  such  case  has  yet  been  met  with,  but  it  is  of 
course  possible  that  in  Italy  the  cave-bear  may  have  sur- 
vived to  a  more  recent  period  than  in  the  region  north 
of  the  Alps.  No  trace  of  it  has  yet  been  found  by  Mr 
Busk  and  Dr  Falconer  among  the  numerous  remains 
from  Gibraltar,  nor  has  it  yet  been  met  with  in  Siberia. 

The  late  Dr  Falconer  referred  to  this  species  the  leg 
bones  of  a  bear  found  in  Brixham  Cave,  above  a  flint 
implement.  Mr  Busk,  however,  who  has  carefully 
examined  these  bones,  and  detached  them  more  completely 
from  the  matrix  in  which  they  were  imbedded  than  was 

^  Brandt,  Biill.  de  PAcad.  Imp.  de  St  Petersbourg^  1870,  vol.  vii.  pt.  3. 
-  Richerche   Paleoetnologiche    nelle    Alpi    Apuane,    Nota    del     Dott. 
C,  Regnoli. 


VARIOUS  SPECIES  OF  BEAR  283 

the  case  when  they  were  examined  by  Dr  Falconer,  is  of 
opinion  that  there  is  no  sufficient  reason  for  referring 
them  to  Ursus  speUus  rather  than  to  one  of  the  other 
large  species  of  fossil  bear. 

It  has  been  stated  that  remains  of  the  cave-bear  have 
occurred  in  the  river  gravels  at  Ilford  and  Gray's 
Thurrocks.  In  the  opinion,  however,  both  of  Mr  Busk 
and  Mr  Boyd  Dawkins,  we  have  no  clear  case  of  the 
remains  of  this  species  being  found  in  river-drift  gravels. 
In  fact,  as  materials  for  comparison  have  increased,  it  has 
proved  more  and  more  difficult  to  separate  Ursus  spelaus 
from  other  large  species  of  bear.  The  jaws  and  teeth  are 
characteristic,  but  the  other  portions  of  the  skeleton  are 
scarcely  distinguishable,  especially  when  they  are  so 
much  fractured,  as  is  generally  the  case  with  those  found 
in  gravel  deposits. 

Vogt,  indeed,  has  expressed  the  opinion  that  every 
gradation  may  be  traced  between  this  species  and  our 
common  brown  bear  (Ursus  Arctos)^  and  Brandt  leans  to 
the  same  opinion.^  Mr  Boyd  Dawkins  also  says  that 
"  those  who  have  compared  the  French,  German,  and 
British  specimens  gradually  realize  the  fact  that  the  fossil 
remains  of  the  bears  form  a  graduated  series,  in  which  all 
the  variations  that  at  first  sight  appear  specific  vanish 
away."  ^  Whether,  however,  the  cave-bear  will  eventually 
be  regarded  as  belonging  to  the  same  species  as  the  brown 
bear  or  not,  it  will  still  remain  a  well-characterized  variety, 
and  one  which  has  never  yet  been  certainly  met  with  in 
the  peat  mosses,  in  the  tumuli  of  Western  Europe,  in  the 
Danish  shell-mounds,  the  Swiss  lake-villages,  or,  in  short, 
associated  with  Neolithic  remains. 

Mr  Busk,  whose  views  have  more  recently  been  sup- 
ported by  Dr  Leith  Adams  and  Mr  Boyd  Dawkins,  has 
made  the  interesting  observation  that  some  remains  of 
bear  found  in  our  British  caves  and  gravels  are  identical 
with  the  corresponding  bones  of  U.  Ferox^  or  grizzly  bear 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

'  Zoogeoi^rap/iische  und  Pakrontoloi^ische  Beiiriige,  1867,  p.  220. 
^  Pleistocene  Afammalia,  Paloeontographical  Soc,  vol.  xviii.  p.  xxii. 


284 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


The  cave-hy^na^  like  the  preceding  species,  is  in  Europe 
characteristic  of  the  Palaeolithic  Age  ;  by  some  authorities 
it  is  now  regarded  as  scarcely  distinguishable  from  the 
Hy<£na  crocuta^  or  spotted  hyaena  of  Southern  Africa. 

Felts  spel^ea^  the  cave-lion  (fig.  207),  attained  a  somewhat 
larger  size  than  the  lion  of  the  present  day,  and  possessed 
in  an  exaggerated  degree  the  characters  by  which  that 
species  is  distinguishable  from  the  tiger.  It  has  hitherto 
been  regarded  as  a  distinct  species,  but  Messrs  Dawkins 


Fig.  207. — Lion,  from  a  drawing  in  the  cave  of  Combarelles. 
After  A.  Breuil. 


and  Sanford  now  consider  ^  it  as  only  a  large  variety  of 
the  lion.  It  has  not  yet  been  found  in  Scotland,  Ireland, 
Scandinavia,  Denmark,  or  Prussia.  It  occurs,  however, 
in  France,  Germany,  Italy,  and  Sicily.  As  long  ago  as 
1672,  Dr  John  Hains  figured  a  bone  of  this  species  from 
the  Carpathians,  an  observation  of  considerable  interest, 
as  it  carries  the  area  of  the  F.  spel^a  so  near  to  the 
mountains  of  Thessaly,  where,  as  Herodotus  tells  us,  the 
camels  attached  to  the  army  of  Xerxes  were  attacked  by 
lions.^      Messrs  Boyd  Dawkins  and   Sanford   refer    also 

1  Pateontological  Soc,  vol.  for  1868,  p.  149. 

^  See  also  Mr  Newton's  interesting  memoir,  On  iJte  Zoology  of  Ancient 
Europe,  Cam.  Phil.  -Soc,  March,  1862. 


CAVE  LION— MAMMOTH  285 

to  the  same  species  the  remains  found  at  Natchez,  in 
Mississippi,  which  were  described  by  Dr  Leidy  as  a  new 
species  under  the  name  of  Felts  atrox.  The  characters, 
however,  which  induced  Dr  Leidy  to  regard  his  specimens 
as  distinct,  are  met  with  in  some  of  the  bones  of  F.  spelaa 
from  the  Mendip  Hills.  If  this  opinion  be  correct, 
F.  speUa  must  have  stretched  eastwards  across  Russia  and 
Siberia,  where  no  remains  of  it  have  yet  been  observed. 
Inasmuch,  however,  as  the  mammoth,  the  musk  ox,  the 
reindeer,  the  bison,  the  elk,  the  horse,  the  wolf, —  in  short, 
many  of  our  most  characteristic  quaternary  mammalia — 
occur  also  in  America,  it  seems  a  priori  rather  probable 
than  otherwise  that  Messrs  Dawkins  and  Sanford  are 
correct  in  regarding  F.  atrox  of  that  continent  as  specifically 
identical  with  the  F.  speloea  of  Europe. 

Remains  of  a  second  large  species  of  Felis^  considered 
to  be  identical  with  the  leopard,  have  been  discovered  in 
the  bone-caves  of  England,  France,  Germany,  Belgium, 
Italy,  and  Spain  ;  and  the  lynx  has  been  found  by  Dr 
Ransom  in  a  Derbyshire  cave. 

The  Mammoth^  or  Elephas  primigenius  (figs.  208,  225), 
had  very  extensive  geographical  range.  Its  remains 
are  found  in  North  America,  but  not  east  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  nor  south  of  Columbia  River  ;  in  the  old 
continent,  from  the  farthest  extremity  of  Siberia  to  the 
extreme  west  of  Europe,  occurring,  though  rarely,  even 
in  Ireland  ;  it  crossed  the  Alps,  and  established  itself  in 
Italy  as  far  southward  as  Rome,  but  it  has  not  yet  been 
discovered  in  Naples,  in  any  of  the  Mediterranean  islands, 
or  in  Scandinavia.  In  Spain  and  Denmark  it  occurs,  but 
is  very  rare. 

In  the  extreme  north,  on  the  contrary,  remains  of  this 
species  are  remarkably  abundant.  Kotzebue  was  struck 
by  this  in  Escholtz  Bay  (N.-W.  America),  and  his  remarks 
have  been  fully  confirmed  by  Beechey.^  The  islands  of 
Lachowski  and  New  Siberia  are  said  to  contain  innumer- 
able bones  of  extinct  animals,  and  particularly  of  the 
mammoth  ;  from  them  and  from  other  parts  of  Siberia 

1  Narrative  of  a  Voyage  to  the  Pacific^  vol.  i.  p.  257. 


286 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


so  much  fossil  ivory  is  obtained  that  it  forms  a  regular 
article  of  commerce.  Nor  have  skeletons  alone  been 
discovered.  In  1799  a  Tungusian  hunter  discovered  the 
body  of  a  mammoth  embedded  in  a  cliff  of  frozen  soil, 
where  it  remained  for  several  years.  In  1 806  it  was 
visited  by  Mr  Adams,  who  found  it  partly  devoured  by 
wolves  and  other  wild  animals,  and  partly  removed  by  the 
Yakuts,  who  used  it  as  food  for  their  dogs.     Fortunately, 


Fig.  208. — Mammoth,  from  a  drawing  in  the  cave  of  Font-de-Gaume. 
After  A.  Breuil. 


however,  a  considerable  portion  of  the  animal  still 
remained.  The  skin  was  dark  grey,  covered  with  reddish 
wool,  mixed  with  long  black  bristles,  somewhat  thicker 
than  horsehair.  Another  frozen  mammoth  was  discovered 
in  1846,  besides  several  other  well-preserved  portions, 
and  it  was  probably  from  earlier  finds  of  a  similar  nature 
that  the  Siberian  tribes  began  to  regard  the  mammoth  as 
a  gigantic  burrowing  animal.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to 
observe  that  the  state  of  preservation  in  which  mammoths 
have  been  found  is  no  evidence  of  recent  existence,  for 


THE  MAMMOTH 


287 


when  once  enveloped  in  frozen   soil  they  might  remain 
unchanged  for  an  indefinite  period. 

The  best  authorities  consider  that  the  mammoth  and 
the  woolly- haired  rhinoceros  lived  in  Siberia  before,  as 
well  as  during  the  glacial  period,  and  though  as  regards 
Europe  the  evidence  is  not  so  conclusive,  it  appears 
probable  that  they  also  existed  in  Europe  in  pre-glacial 
times.  It  is  probable  that  during  the  severer  portions  of 
the  period  they  retreated  south,  and  advanced  northward 
again  during  the  milder  inter-glacial  period.  Whatever 
doubt,  however,  there  may  be  as  to  the  date  at  which  this 
species  made  its  appearance  in  Europe,  we  can  no  longer 
hesitate  to  believe  that  our  ancestors,  or  at  least  our  pre- 


FiG.  209. — Molar  tooth  of  E.  antiquus^  one-third  actual  size. 

decessors,  co-existed  in  England  with  the  mammoth, 
which  they  no  doubt  hunted,  as  the  wildest  tribes  of 
Africa  and  India  do  now. 

The  only  other  species  of  elephant  which  inhabited 
Northern  Europe  during  the  quaternary  period  was  the 
nearly  allied  Elephas  antiquus^  remains  of  which  have  been 
found  in  English  caves  and  river  gravels,  though,  on  the 
whole,  it  had  a  more  southerly  range  than  the  mammoth. 
It  is  generally  associated  with  Rhinoceros  leptorhinus^  Cuv., 
while,  on  the  contrary,  the  mammoth  and  R.  tichorhinus 
usually  occur  together. 

In  Southern  Europe  unmistakable  remains  of  the  exist- 
ing African  elephant  have  been  met  with. 

Fig.  209  represents  a  molar  tooth  of  E.  antiquus^  and 
fig.  210  one  belonging  to  E.  primigenius  ;  it  will  at  once 
be  seen  that  the  plates  are  much  narrower  in  the  latter 
than  in  the  former. 


288 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


At  least  three  species  of  rhinoceros  inhabited  Europe 
during  the  quaternary  period  ;  on  this  all  are  agreed,  but, 
unfortunately",  the  nomenclature  is  involved  in  very 
considerable  confusion.  R.  leptorhinus  was  originally  so 
named  by  Cuvier  in  1812,  from  a  drawing  of  a  specimen 
found  in  the  Val  d'Arno,  and  in  which  the  bony  septum 
between  the  nostrils  was  represented  as  deficient.  In 
1835,  M.  de  Christol  stated  that  he  had  examined  the 
specimen  in  question,  that  the  drawing  was  incorrect,  and 
the  name  consequently  inapplicable.  Subsequently,  how- 
ever, Dr  Falconer  visited  Italy  and  satisfied  himself  that 
after  all  the  original  drawing  was  correct,  and  that  there- 
fore Cuvier's  name  must  be  restored.  In  the  meantime 
Professor    Owen    had    unfortunately    described    another 


Fig,  210. — Molar  tooth  of  the  mammoth,  one-third  actual  size. 

species  of  rhinoceros  found  at  Clacton  as  R.  leptorhinus^ 
which  name  must  of  course  be  abandoned  if  Cuvier's 
name  is  permitted  to  stand.  Hence  Dr  Falconer  proposed 
to  call  this  latter  species  R.  hemitachus.  It  is  necessary 
therefore  to  bear  in  mind  that  the  R.  leptorhinus  of  Owen 
is  not  the  R.  leptorhinus  of  Cuvier,  but  that  it  is  the 
R.  hemitachus  of  Falconer,  while  M.  Lartet  maintains  that 
it  is  identical  with  the  R.  Merkii  of  Kaup.  On  the  other 
hand,  M.  de  Christol,  in  1835,  described  a  rhinoceros, 
which  undoubtedly  wanted  the  nasal  septum,  and  believ- 
ing himself  to  have  proved  that  the  figure  on  which 
Cuvier  based  his  description  of  R.  leptorhinus  "w^is  incorrect, 
he  named  this  species  R.  megarhinus.  Hence  Cuvier's 
R.  leptorhinus  is  identical  with  De  Christol's  R.  megarhinus. 
The  third  species  is  the  R.  tichorhinus  (fig.  211) 
of    Cuv.,   a    name    which    has    been    generally    adopted. 


RHINOCEROS 


289 


although   Blumenbach  had   previously  proposed  that  of 
R.  antiquitatis. 


o 


Mr  Boyd  Dawklns  considers  that  there  is  still  some 
doubt  about  the  real  character  of  the  specimen  on  which 
Cuvier  founded  his  R.  leptorhinus^  and  consequently  adopts 

19 


2^0  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

the  following  nomenclature  :  R.  megarhinuSy  De  Christol  ; 
R.  leptorhinus^  Owen  ;  and  R.  tichorhinus^  Cuvier.  M, 
Lartet  uses  the  names  R.  leptorhinus,  Cuv.  ;  R.  Merkii^ 
Kaup  ;  and  R.  tichorhinus^  Cuvier.  These  differences  of 
opinion,  however,  relate  merely  to  the  nomenclature,  and 
do  not  touch  the  existence  of  the  species  themselves. 
The  first  two  belonged  to  the  pre-glacial  as  well  as  to  the 
post-glacial  period.  The  woolly-haired,  two-horned, 
smooth-skinned  R.  tichorhinus^  on  the  contrary,  which 
appears  to  have  been  the  commonest  in  post-glacial  times, 
has  not  yet  been  proved  to  have  existed  in  Europe  in  the 
period  before  the  glacial  epoch.  The  two  other  species 
also  have  a  more  southerly  range,  having  been  found  in 
Italy  and  Spain,  while  R.  tichorhinus,  though  it  has  been 
met  with  from  the  extreme  north  of  Siberia,^  throughout 
Central  Europe  and  England,  does  not  appear  to  have 
crossed  either  the  Alps  or  the  Pyrenees.  It  is  somewhat 
remarkable  that  no  remains  of  rhinoceros  have  yet 
been  discovered  in  Sicily,  Malta,  Scotland,  Ireland,^  or 
America,^  in  all  of  which  countries  the  elephant  has  been 
met  with.  On  the  other  hand,  a  single  tooth  has,  accord- 
ing to  Brandt,  been  found  in  Scandinavia,  where  no 
remains  of  elephant  have  yet  been  discovered. 

The  Musk-ox^  or  rather  Musk-sheep^  is  at  present  con- 
fined to  the  northern  part  of  Arctic  America.  Its  remains, 
however,  occur  in  Siberia  ;  and  in  1856  Mr  Kingsley  and 
I  were  so  fortunate  as  to  obtain  a  portion  of  a  skull  from 
the  large  gravel-pit  near  Maidenhead  Station.  Since  then 
I  have  met  with  it  again  at  Greenstreet  Green,  near 
Bromley,  in  Kent  ;  it  has  also  been  found  in  the  gravel 
of  the  Avon,  near  Bath,  in  that  of  the  Severn,  near 
Gloucester,  and  at  Crayford.  It  has  since  been  found, 
though  rarely,  in  France  and  Germany. 

The  Hippopotamus^  though  hitherto  regarded  as  a  distinct 

'  In  more  than  one  instance  the  actual  carcase  of  this  animal  has 
been  found  preserved  like  the  mammoth,  by  being  imbedded  in  frozen 
soil. 

^  Lartet,  "  Note  sur  deux  tetes  de  Carnassiers  Fossiles,"  Ann.  d.  Set. 
Nat..,  Ser.  5,  vol.  viii. 

^  D'Archiac,  Let^ons  sur  le  Faune  Quaiernaire,  p.  196. 


RHINOCEROS— IRISH  ELK  291 

species  from  the  H.  amphibius  of  Africa,  was,  if  not 
identical  with,  at  any  rate  very  closely  allied  to  it.  Some 
palaeontologists  believe  that,  like  the  mammoth  and  the 
R.  tichorhinuSy  it  was  covered  with  hair  ;  we  have,  how- 
ever, no  distinct  evidence  in  support  of  this  view.  It 
may,  moreover,  be  remarked,  though  too  much  import- 
ance must  not  be  attached  to  the  observation,  that  our 
ancient  hippopotamus  has  been  less  frequently  found  in 
association  with  these  two  species,  than  with  E.  antiquus 
and  R.  hemiuchus^  Falc.  {leptorhinus^  Owen),  which,  as 
just  mentioned,  have  a  more  southerly  range.  Thus,  in 
this  country,  it  has  only  been  found  in  four  bone-caves, 
those  of  Durdham  Down,  Kirkdale,  Kent's  Hole  Cavern, 
and  Ravenscliff  in  Gower,  and  in  the  two  former  it  was 
associated  with  E,  antiquus  and  R.  hemitachus.  In  the 
river  gravels  its  remains  are  found  at  Grays  and  Ilford, 
associated  with  the  R.  tichorhinus^  R.  leptorhinus^  and  R. 
hemitachus  ;  at  Walton  and  Folkestone,  with  Elephas 
antiquus  ;  at  Peckham,  with  E.  antiquus^  and  E.  primi- 
genius  ;  at  Bedford,  with  E.  antiquus^  the  tichorhine  rhino- 
ceros, and  the  reindeer  ;  and  at  Barton,  with  the  mammoth 
and  R.  hemitachus} 

The  magnificent  Irish  elk,  or  Megaceros  hihernicus^ 
which  attained  a  height  of  more  than  ten  feet,  with 
antlers  measuring  eleven  feet  from  tip  to  tip,  may  perhaps 
have  lived  to  a  somewhat  more  recent  period,  but  appears 
to  have  had  a  much  more  restricted  range.  Its  remains 
have  been  found  in  Sweden,  in  Germany,  in  France  as 
far  as  the  Pyrenees,  and  in  Central  Italy.  It  seems, 
however,  to  have  been  most  abundant  in  the  British 
Isles,  and  especially  in  Ireland.  It  is  reported  to  have 
been  frequently  found  in  peat-bogs,  but  Professor  Owen 
believes  that,  in  reality,  the  bones  generally  occur  in  the 
lacustrine  shell  marl,  which  underlies  the  peat  or  bog 
earth.^ 

In    the    Niebelungen    Lied  of    the    twelfth   century,   a 

'   The   British    Pleistocene    Mavunalia,    PaUcontological    Soc,    1866, 
p.  xxviii, 
2  Owen,  toe.  cit.,  p.  465. 


292 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


mysterious    animal     is     mentioned    under    the    name    of 
schelch  : 

"  After  this  he  straightway  slew  a  bison  and  an  elk, 
Of  the  strong  uri  four,  and  one  fierce  schelch." 

It  has  been  supposed  by  some  writers  that  the  schelch 
was,  in  fact,  the  Megaceros  hihernicus.  There  is,  however, 
no   sufficient  reason   for   this   hypothesis,   and   we   must 


Fig.  212. — Deer,  from  a  drawing  in  the  cave  of  Altamira.     After  A.  Breuil. 

remember  that  the  same  poem,  as  Dr  Buckland  has 
pointed  out,  contains  allusions  to  giants,  dwarfs,  pigmies, 
and  fire-dragons.  Neither  Cassar  nor  Tacitus  mentions 
the  Irish  elk,  and  they  would  surely  not  have  omitted 
such  a  remarkable  animal,  if  it  had  been  known  to  them. 

No  remains  of  the  Irish  elk  have  yet  been  found  in 
association  with  bronze,  nor  indeed  am  I  aware  of  any 
which  can  be  referred  to  the  later  Stone  or  Neolithic  Age. 

These  twelve  species,  then,  are  especially  characteristic 
of  the  river-drift  deposits.  Most  of  them  occur  also  in 
the  loess  of  the  Rhine  and  its  principal  tributaries,  but. 


HORSE  AND  HIND. 

From  a  painting  on  the  roof  of  the  Cam 
of  AUamira,  Spain. 

AFTER  A  DRAWING  BY 
M.  H  BREUIL 


WILD  HORSES  293 

except  perhaps  the  last,  they  have  not  yet  been  met  with 
in  the  peat-bogs.  They  never  occur  in  the  Kjokken- 
mSddings,  the  lake-habitations,  or  tumuli  ;  nor  are  there 
any  traditions  in  Western  Europe  which  can  be  regarded 
as  indicating,  even  in  the  most  obscure  manner,  any 
recollection  of  these  gigantic  mammalia. 

Another  remarkable  group  of  animals  invaded  Europe 
soon  after  the  glacial  period,  from  the  dry  steppes  of 
Central  Asia.  Amongst  these  were  the  Saiga  Antelope 
(/f.  saiga),  the  Lagopus  /usil/us,  the  Common  Hamster 
{Cricetus  vulgaris),  the  Small  Hamster  (C.  phaus),  the 
Steppe  Marmot  {Arctomys  bobac),  the  Spermophilus 
rufescens,  Alactaga  jaculus,  and  Arvicola  gregaris  {Kriz. 
Mit.  Anthr.  Ges.  Wien,  1898,  p.  8).  These  have  been 
supposed  to  indicate  the  prevalence  of  a  very  dry  period. 
Of  fourteen  special  "  Tundra  "  species,  twelve  have  been 
found  in  Western  Europe.  Is  it  not  possible,  however, 
that  they  happened  to  be  amongst  the  first  arrivals  on  the 
return  of  a  milder  period,  and  were  not  able  to  maintain 
themselves  in  the  struggle  for  existence  ? 

The  Wild  Horses  (fig.  213  and  Plate)  which  in  ancient 
times  inhabited  Europe  differed  somewhat  from  our 
present  breed,  and  have  been  described  as  separate  races 
by  Professor  Owen,  under  the  names  of  Equus  fossilis  and 
Equus  speUus.  The  latter  is  the  race  which  was  largely 
used  for  food  by  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  the  Bruniquel 
Cave  in  Dordogne.-^  It  was  rather  small  in  size,  but 
appears  to  have  resembled  the  true  horse  more  than  the 
ass.  Some  naturalists  have,  indeed,  been  disposed  to 
believe  that  Europe  contained  two  wild  species  of  the 
genus  Equus  during  quaternary  times.  This  opinion, 
however,  seems  to  depend  on  difference  of  size  rather 
than  of  form,  and  we  know  that  the  varieties  of  the  horse 
differ  considerably  in  magnitude.  At  Solutre  the  wild 
horse  seems  to  have  been  the  principal  article  of  food, 
and  it  is  estimated  that  the  deposit  must  have  contained 
the  remains  of  100,000  animals. 

'  Owen,  Philosophical  Transactions,  1869,  p.  535.     See  also  Riitimeyer 
Beitrdge  zur  Kenntniss  der  fossilen  Pferden. 


294 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


Ekkehard,  in  the  'Benedictiones  ad  mensas  Ekkehardi 
monachi  Sangallensis^  mentions  "  ferales  equi "  as  existing 
in  the  eleventh  century  in  Switzerland.  Lucas  David 
also  (Reuss.  Chronik.^  Bd.  ii.  s.  121)  alludes  to  the  wild 
horse  as  existing  in  1240  in  Russia.  Even  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  seventeenth  century,  Herberstein  expressly 
says,  "  Feras  habet  Lithuania,  praeter  eas,  quae  in  Germania 
referuntur,  bison tes,  uros,  alces,  ec/uos  sylvestres^''  etc. 

Perhaps,  however,  these   mediaeval   wild    horses   were 


Fig.  213. — Wild  horse,  from  a  drawing  in  the  cave  of  Combarelles, 
After  A.  Breuil. 


merely  tame  ones  which  had  escaped  and  bred  in  the 
extensive  forests  of  Central  Europe.  Indeed,  the  history 
of  the  horse  in  Europe  seems  to  have  been  much  the 
same  as  in  America.  In  the  one  country  as  in  the  other, 
wild  horses  were  at  one  time  frequent,  and  their  remains 
are  abundant.  The  Spanish  conquerors,  however,  found 
no  trace  or  tradition  of  the  horse  at  the  time  of  the 
discovery  of  America  ;  and  so  also  in  the  Danish  shell- 
mounds,  and  at  the  earlier  Swiss  lake-villages,  the  horse 
was  either  unknown,  or  at  least  extremely  rare.  Gradually 
it  seems  to  have  become  again  abundant,  both  in  a  domesti- 
cated and  a  wild  condition  ;  until  at  length,  as  population 


REINDEER 


295 


increased,  the  wild  horse  finally  disappeared  in  Europe, 
as  he  seems  destined  ere  long  to  do  in  America.^ 

The  Reindeer  (figs.  214,  224)  still  exists  in  Northern 
Europe,  in  Siberia,  and  in  North  America,  where  it  has 
been  found  as  far  north  as  man  has  yet  penetrated.  Even 
so  recently  as  the  time  of  Pallas  it  might  still  be  met  with 
on  the  wooded  summits  of  the  Oural  Mountains,  as  far 
south  as  the  Caucasus.  In  Western  Europe  it  is  now  an 
extinct  species,  though  it  was  at  one  time  abundant  in 


Fig.  214. — Reindeer,  from  a  painting  in  the  cave  ot  Font-de-Gaume 
(Dordogne).     After  A.  Breuil. 


England  and  France,  whence,  however,  it  is  unnecessary 
to  say,  it  has  long  disappeared.  M.  Lartet  found  no  traces 
of  it  in  any  of  the  Spanish  caves  examined  by  him  ;  Ponzi 
mentions  it,  though  apparently  with  some  little  doubt, 
as  occurring  among  the  animal  remains  collected  by 
M.  Regnoli,  at  Cantalupo,  near  Rome  ;  but  its  existence 
south  of  the  Alps  seems  still  doubtful.^ 

At  the  present  day  the  reindeer,  like  the  Laplander,  is 
gradually  retiring  northwards,  unable  to  resist  the  pressure 

'  See,  for  further  particulars,  Brandt,  Zoographische  und  Palceonto- 
logische  Beitrdge,  p.  176. 

^  Rapporto  sugli  Studi  e  sulle  Scoperte  Paleoetnologiche  nel  Bacino 
della  Cavipagna  Roma7ia,  Roma,  1867. 


296  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

of  advancing  civilization.  Even  within  the  last  ten  years 
a  few  families  of  Lapps  might  still  be  found  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Nystuen,  on  the  summit  of  the  Fillefjeld, 
and  some  other  places  in  the  south  of  Norway,  but  none 
are  now  to  be  found  on  this  side  of  the  Namsen  river. 
The  reindeer,  in  a  wild  state,  indeed,  even  at  the  present 
day,  is  generally  distributed,  though  in  small  numbers, 
over  the  highest  and  wildest  of  the  Norwegian  fjelds, 
protected,  however,  by  stringent  game  laws,  but  for  which 
it  would  probably  have  ere  now  ceased  to  exist. 

On  the  other  hand,  this  species  must  have  been  at  one 
time  very  abundant  in  Great  Britain,  no  fewer  than  a 
thousand  horns  having  been  found  by  Colonel  Wood  in 
some  of  the  Gower  caves  on  the  Welsh  coast. 

As  far  as  we  can  judge  from  the  present  evidence,  the 
first  appearance  of  the  reindeer  in  Europe  coincided  with 
that  of  the  mammoth,  and  took  place  at  a  later  period 
than  that  of  the  cave-bear  or  Irish  elk.  It  is  generally 
found  wherever  the  mammoth  and  woolly-haired  rhino- 
ceros occur  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  as  its  remains  are 
abundant  in  some  of  the  bone-caves  in  which  the  gigantic 
Pachyderms  are  wanting,  it  is  probable  that  it  survived  to 
a  still  later  period.  The  reindeer  has  not,  however,  been 
found  in  the  Kjokkenmoddings  of  Denmark,  nor  in  any 
of  the  tumuli  of  England,  France,  or  Germany.  It  is 
also  wanting  in  the  Swiss  lake-villages,  although  we  know 
that  it  was  at  one  time  an  inhabitant  of  Switzerland,  bones 
of  it  having  been  found  in  a  cave  at  L'Echelle,  between 
the  Great  and  Little  Saleve,  near  Geneva,  where  they 
were  mixed  with  worked  flints,  ashes,  and  remains  of  the 
ox  and  horse. 

As  might  naturally  have  been  expected,  remains  of  the 
reindeer  occur  in  the  peat  mosses  of  Sweden,  as  well  as 
in  those  of  Scotland  and  England.  It  is  not,  however, 
represented  on  any  of  the  ancient  British  or  Gallic  coins. 
Caesar,  indeed,  mentions  it  as  existing  in  the  great  Her- 
cynian  forest  ;  but  his  description  is  both  imperfect  and 
incorrect.  He  seems  to  have  heard  of  it  only  at  second- 
hand,   and    never    to  have  met  with  anybody  who   had 


REINDEER  297 

actually  seen  one.  It  does  not  appear  to  have  been  ever 
exhibited  in  the  Roman  circus. 

BufFon  stated  on  the  authority  of  Gaston,  Comte  de 
Foix,  that  in  his  time  (1331  to  1390)  the  reindeer  still 
lived  in  the  south  of  France.  Cuvier,  however,  by 
examining  an  ancient  manuscript,  sent  by  Gaston  himself 
to  Philippe  le  Hardi,  showed  that,  though  his  expression 
is  a  little  ambiguous,  he  probably  intended  to  say  exactly 
the  reverse,  his  words  being — 

"  J'en  ay  veu  en  Nourvegne  et  Xuedene  et  en  ha  oultre 
mer,  mes  en  Remain  pays  en  ay  je  peu  veu."  ^ 

Remains  of  the  reindeer  have  been  found  in  Scotland 
in  beds  of  marl  and  till,  and  also,  though  very  rarely,  in 
peat.^  Hibbert,^  Brandt,*  Boyd  Dawkins,  J.  A.  Smith, 
and  other  good  authorities,  consider  that  it  survived  in 
the  extreme  north  down  to  the  twelfth  century  ;  relying 
on  the  statement  of  Torfaeus,  that  the  Norwegians  used 
to  make  incursions  from  the  Orkneys  into  Caithness  for 
the  purpose  of  hunting  reindeer  (Jireina)  and  other  game.^ 

While,  however,  fully  admitting  the  high  authority  of 
Torfaeus,  I  cannot  regard  a  casual  statement  of  this 
character  as  conclusively  deciding  the  question,  and  I  may 
add  that  Sir  G.  Dasent,  who  was  so  great  an  authority  on 
all  questions  connected  with  Scandinavian  literature,  was 
convinced  that  the  reindeer  was  extinct  in  Scotland  at  the 
period  in  question.  It  may  also  be  remarked  that  several 
attempts  which  have  been  made  to  introduce  the  reindeer 
into  Scotland  have  completely  failed,  the  animals  dying 
without  any  very  apparent  reason,  while,  on  the  contrary, 
in  Iceland  they  have  become  numerous.  I  admit  that 
these  experiments  are  far  from  conclusive  ;  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  in  Scandinavia  the  deer  are  said  to  be  larger 
in  the  northern  districts  than  in  the  southern,  while  the 
Spitzbergen  specimens  are  the  finest  of  all. 

*  Recherche s  sur  les  Ossements  Fossiles,  vol.  vi.  p.  125. 

^  See  Dawkins,  Popular  Science  Review^  Jan.  1868  ;  Smith,  Pt-oc.  Soc. 
Ant.  Scot..,  1869,  p.  186. 

^  Edinburgh  Journal  of  Sci..,  1831. 

*  Zoogeogr.  und  Palceont.  Beitrdge,  1867,  pp.  62,  256. 
^  Rerum  Orcadensium  His.,  i.  36. 


298  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

If,  indeed,  Torfaeus  had  distinctly  stated  that  the  rein- 
deer existed  in  northern  Scotland  during  the  twelfth 
century,  the  state  of  the  case  would  have  been  very 
different  ;  the  passage  referred  to,  however,  could  hardly 
be  accepted  as  conclusive  by  itself,  especially  as  long  as 
no  traces  of  reindeer  had  been  found  among  the  ancient 
ruins  which  abound  in  that  district.  On  the  other  hand, 
Dr  J.  A.  Smith  has  carefully  examined  the  horns  and 
bones  found  in  the  ruins  of  the  curious  towers  known  as 
"  Brochs,"  or  "  Burghs,"  and  has  shown  that  some  of 
them  certainly  belonged  to  the  reindeer.^  Thus  fragments 
of  reindeer's  horns  have  been  collected  by  Mr  Joass  among 
the  ruins  of  the  Cill-Trolla  Broch,  on  the  farm  of  Kintrad- 
well,  near  Brora,  on  the  sea-coast  of  Sutherlandshire.  Dr 
Smith,  on  carefully  examining  the  remains  of  deer  obtained 
by  Mr  Laing  at  Keiss,  in  Caithness,  finds  that  they  do 
not  all  belong,  as  at  first  supposed,  to  the  red  deer,  but 
that  some  of  them  were  those  of  the  reindeer.  Lastly, 
remains  of  this  species  have  been  collected  by  Mr  Anderson 
in  the  ruins  of  the  Yarhouse  Broch,  in  the  same  county. 
It  is  indeed  more  than  probable  that  in  other  cases 
remains  of  the  reindeer  have  been  incorrectlv  ascribed  to 
the  red  deer. 

We  do  not,  unfortunately,  know  the  date  at  which  these 
Burghs  or  Brochs  were  first  constructed,  but  it  is  on  record 
that  some  of  them  were  in  use  down  to  the  twelfth  century 
(see  ante^  p.  62). 

No  doubt  these  observations  tend  to  support  the 
inference  derived  from  the  statement  of  Torfaeus,  and 
though  1  am  not  entirely  convinced,  it  must  be  admitted 
that  there  are  strong  grounds  for  believing  that  the  rein- 
deer survived  in  northern  Scotland  down  to  a  compara- 
tively recent  period,  if  not  so  late  as  the  time  mentioned 
by  Torfaeus. 

The  true  Arctic  Fox  has  also  been  found  in  English 
bone-caves,  as  well  as  in  those  of  Central  Europe.  Indeed, 
in  the  Kessorloch  cave  in  Switzerland,  out  of  1 50  lower 
jaws   of    foxes,    only  2   belonged   to  our  Common  Fox, 

'  Proc.  Soc.  Antiq.,  1868,  vol.  viii.  p.  186. 


GLUTTON— AUROCHS  299 

66  to  the  Arctic  Fox  {Cams  lagopus),  and  the  remainder  to 
the  Red  Fox  of  North  America.^  In  the  same  cave  the 
Common  Hare  was  represented  by  two  individuals  only, 
while  of  the  Alpine  Hare  not  less  than  250  individuals 
were  indicated  by  the  remains. 

The  Glutton,  of  North  Europe,  which  is  the  wolverine 
of  the  North  American  fur-hunters,  has  been  found  in 
several    of    the    Ena^lish    bone-caves,    as  well  as    in    the 


Fig.  215. — Bison,  from  a  painting  in  the  cave  of  Altamira.     After  A.  Breuil.^ 

Norfolk  "  Forest-beds,"  ^  and  is    abundant    in    those  of 
Belgium. 

The  Aurochs,  or  European  bison  (see  Frontispiece 
and  figs.  215,  216),  appears  to  have  been  abundant  in 
Western  Europe.  It  has  been  found  in  Scotland, 
England,  France,  Germany,  Denmark,  Sweden,  Poland, 
and  Italy,  as  well  as  in  Russia.  Its  remains  occur  in 
the  river-drift  gravels,  the  bone-caves,  the  lake-villages 
of  Switzerland,  and  in  the  peat-bogs,  though  none  have 
yet  been  found  in  the  shell-mounds  of  Denmark,  nor,  so 

^  Merk.  Mitt,  der  Ant.  Ges.  in  Zufich,  1875  '■>  Riitimeyer,  Die  Veriind. 
der  Thierivelt  in  der  Schweiz  seit  Anwesenheit  der  Menschen. 
^  Anthropologic.,  vol.  xv. 
^  Newton,  Quart.  Jour Jt.  Geol.  Soc,  1880. 


300 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


far  as  I  am  aware,  in  any  of  our  British  peat-bogs  or 
tumuli.  M.  Lartet  thinks  that  it  is  represented  on  a  coin 
of  the  Santones,  which  was  shown  to  him  by  M.  de  Saulcy. 
It  is  stated  by  Pliny  and  Seneca  to  have  existed  in  their 
time,  with  the  urus,  in  the  great  forests  of  Germany. 
Though  not  mentioned  by  Caesar,  it  is  alluded  to  in  the 
Niebelungen  Lied^  and  is  said  to  have  existed  in  Prussia 
down  to  the  year  1775.  According  to  Nordmann  and 
Von  Baer,  it  still  survives  in  some  parts  of  Western  Asia. 
The  bison  is  also  preserved  by  the  Emperor  of  Russia 


Fig.  216. — Bison,  from  a  painting  in  the  cave  of  Altamira.     After  A.  Breuil.^ 


in  the  imperial  forests  of  Lithuania,  where,  however,  its 
existence  seems  to  be  very  precarious.  In  1830  the 
herd  numbered  7 1 1  head,  of  which,  during  the  Polish 
revolution  in  1831,  115  were  killed.  From  that  time 
they  gradually  increased  until  1857,  when  the  numbers 
were  1898,  but  during  the  late  Polish  rebellion  they  fell 
to  874.      Since  1863  no  numbers  have  been  given. 

According  to  Ratimeyer,  than  whom  it  is  impossible 
to  cite  a  greater  authority  on  such  a  question,  our  ancient 
bison  (5.  priscus)  was  specifically  identical  with  the  exist- 
ing American  bison.  Every  stage,  however,  between  the 
fossil    form    and    the  existing  European  aurochs  can  be 

'  Anthropologie,  vol.  xv. 


AUROCHS— URUS  301 

traced,  so  that  it  is  impossible  to  separate  the  two,  an 
opinion  in  which  Brandt  also  coincides.  It  would  appear, 
moreover,  that  the  American  form  of  bison  is  more 
archaic  than  that  of  Europe. 

Allen  regards  the  gigantic  Bos  latifrons^  which  had  im- 
mense horns  spreading  from  ten  to  twelve  feet,  as  the  parent 
form,  passing  through  B.priscus  into  the  present  European, 
and  through  B.  bonasus  into  the  American  bison.^  We 
have  here,  therefore,  a  clear  case  in  which  two  now  dis- 
tinct species  are  connected  by  the  evidence  of  fossil 
remains. 

The  urus,  or  Bos  primigenius,  did  not  extend  its  range 
to  America,  nor,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  have  its  remains 
yet  been  met  with  in  North-Eastern  Asia.  They  occur, 
however,  throughout  Europe  —  in  England,  Scotland, 
Denmark,  and  the  south  of  Sweden,  in  France  and 
Germany.  Across  the  Alps  and  Pyrenees,  it  occurs  in 
Italy  and  Spain,  and  even,  according  to  M.  Gervais,  in 
Northern  Africa.  In  the  museum  at  Lund  is  a  skeleton 
belonging  to  this  species,  in  which  one  of  the  vertebrae 
still  shows  traces  of  a  wound,  made,  in  the  opinion  of 
Professor  Nilsson,  by  a  flint  arrow.  Bones  of  this  species 
have  also  been  met  with  in  ancient  tumuli,  as  well  as  in 
the  lake-habitations,  and  in  the  Kjokkenmoddings. 

Caesar  particularly  mentions  the  urus  as  occurring  in 
the  Hercynian  forest  :  it  is  alluded  to  in  the  Niebelungen 
Liedj  and,  according  to  Herberstein,  it  existed  in  Germany 
down  to  the  sixteenth  century.  In  England,  wild  bulls 
are  mentioned  by  Fitz-Stephen,  in  his  Life  of  Becket^  as 
occurring  near  London  as  late  as  the  twelfth  century. 
It  does  not  seem  certain,  however,  that  these  were  uri. 
The  celebrated  wild  cattle  of  Chillingham,  and  some  of 
our  domestic  breeds,  are  generally  regarded  by  palaeon- 
tologists as  being  descended  from  the  ancient  urus,  but 
this  is  denied  by  others,  who  consider  that  the  Chillingham 
cattle  are  descended  from  the  imported  Shorthorn  breed 
(see  ante^  p.  210). 

Mr  Dawkins  is  of  opinion  that  Machairodus  latidenSy 
'   The  American  Bisofis,  p.  35. 


302  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

one  of  the  most  remarkable  of  the  Pliocene  carnivora, 
survived  to  post-glacial  times.  It  was  found  by  MacEnery 
in  Kent's  Hole,  but  was  apparently  very  rare,  and  our 
committee  only  found  a  single  tooth  in  the  subsequent 
examination  of  that  interesting  cavern.  Nor  has  it 
occurred  in  any  other  of  our  bone-caves  or  river  gravels 
with  remains  of  post-glacial  mammalia.  The  Norway 
Elk,  which  is  identical  with  the  American  moose,  was  also 
an  inhabitant  of  this  country,  but  has  long  become  extinct 
here,  as,  indeed,  throughout  Western  Europe.  Even  in 
Prussia  it  is  said  that  there  are  only  about  226  remaining.-^ 
The  lemming  has  been  discovered  by  Dr  Blackmore  in  the 
river  gravels  at  Fisherton,  near  Salisbury  ;  and  the  lagomys, 
or  tailless  hare,  a  genus  now  confined  to  the  Himalayas, 
Siberia,  and  the  colder  regions  of  North  America,  has 
been  identified  by  Professor  Owen  among  the  bones  from 
Kent's  Cavern,  and  by  Dr  Falconer  among  those  from 
the  Brixham  Cave.  Among  other  northern  and  eastern 
forms  may  be  also  mentioned  a  species  allied  to  Dipus, 
Alactaga  jaculus^  and  a  small  mouse,  Arvicola  gregaris} 
Another  glacial  genus,  that  of  the  marmots,  is  represented 
by  two  species,  one  of  them  very  closely  resembling  that 
now  living  in  Siberia.  These  later  species,  together  with 
the  Saiga  antelope,  indicate  the  existence,  during  part  of 
the  period,  of  a  dry  and  cold  interval  with  a  climate 
resembling  the  Siberian  tundras.  Lastly,  it  may  be 
observed  that  remains  of  the  great  snowy  owl  {Strix 
nivea)  and  of  the  willow  grouse  (Tetrao  albus)  are  met 
with  in  abundance  in  most  of  the  caves  of  the  south-west 
of  France. 

The  river  gravels  contain  also  ^(y  species  of  shell-fish, 
of  which  34  at  present  live  in  Sweden,^  and  29  in 
Lombardy.  These  latter,  however,  are  principally  species 
having  a  very  wide  range,  and  we  shall  see  still  more 
clearly  that  the  leaning  of  the  molluscan  fauna  is  towards 

'  See  Report  frotn  Her  Majesty^ s  Representatives  abroad,  oti  the  Laws 
and  Rcgulatiofis  relating  to  Game,  presented  to  Parliament,  1871. 
■■^  Arch.f.  Anthropologie,  1876,  p.  162. 
^  Proc.  Roy.  Soc,  1862,  p.  44. 


LINKS  BETWEEN  EXISTING  SPECIES      303 

the  north,  if  we  remember  that  out  of  77  Finland 
species,  31  have  been  found  in  the  upper  level  gravels, 
while  of  193  Lombard  species,  only  29  have  as  yet 
occurred. 

A  very  interesting  point  connected  with  this  quaternary 
fauna  is  the  manner  in  which  it  connects  together  species 
now  quite  distinct.  Opponents  of  Mr  Darwin's  theory 
often  ask  for  the  links  connecting  any  two  species.  In 
fact,  however,  every  species  is  a  link  between  other  allied 
forms.  Of  course,  indeed,  as  long  as  any  varieties  remain 
undescribed  there  will  be  intervals — indicating,  however, 
gaps  not  in  nature,  but  in  our  knowledge.  Moreover, 
it  is  admitted  by  everyone  that  there  are  variable  species, 
that  is  to  say,  species  which  present  two  or  more  extreme 
forms,  with  intermediate  gradations.  Now  we  may  fairly 
ask  those  who  assert  that  no  two  species  are  connected 
by  links,  how  they  would  separate  the  instances  of  vari- 
able animals  (which  they  admit  to  occur)  from  the  case 
which  they  say  does  not  exist.  If  we  were  to  obtain  to- 
morrow all  the  links  between  any  two  species  which  are 
now  considered  distinct,  no  one  can  deny  that  the  two 
would  at  once  be  united,  and  would  hereafter  appear  in 
our  classifications  as  one  variable  species.  In  fact,  there- 
fore, they  first  unite  into  one  species  all  these  forms, 
however  different,  between  which  a  complete  series  is 
known,  and  then  argue  in  favour  of  the  permanence  of 
species  because  no  two  of  them  are  united  by  intermediate 
links. 

Moreover,  if  species  were  in  reality  unconnected  by 
common  ancestors,  then  it  would  necessarily  follow  that, 
as  our  knowledge  of  any  group  increased,  the  separations 
between  the  diflferent  species  would  become  more  and 
more  unmistakable.  On  the  contrary,  however,  it  is  a 
well-known  fact  that  the  difficult  genera  become  still 
more  difficult  as  they  are  more  profoundly  studied.  If, 
indeed,  we  consider  existing  forms  only,  no  doubt  the 
distinctions  between  the  greater  number  of  species  are 
well-marked,  nor  does  anyone  expect  to  find  a  living 
series  of  links  between   them.     The  intermediate  forms 


304  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

lived  in  tertiary  and  quaternary  times.  Thus  directly 
we  commence  to  study  the  extinct  forms,  all  the  con- 
venient lines  of  separation  gradually  thin  out.  For 
instance,  the  larger  species  of  mammalia  are  at  present  in 
most  cases  well  marked,  but  it  becomes  much  more 
difficult  satisfactorily  to  distinguish  them  from  one 
another  when  we  consider  fossil  specimens  as  well  as 
recent  ones.  To  take  only  two  cases  from  the  group  of 
quaternary  mammalia,  we  have  seen  that,  according  to 
Riltimeyer,  the  European  and  American  bisons,  which 
are  now  quite  distinct,  are  connected  by  the  Bison  priscus^ 
while  between  our  brown  bear  and  the  grizzly  bear  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains  a  series  of  links  has  been  discovered 
among  the  abundant  remains  in  the  bone-caves. 

Great  as  is  the  interest  attaching  to  the  existence  of 
man  at  a  period  so  much  more  ancient  than  that  hitherto 
assigned  to  him,  there  is  something  which,  to  many 
minds,  will  appear  even  more  fascinating,  in  the  presence 
of  such  a  fauna  as  that  which  I  have  thus  briefly  indicated. 
For  it  must  be  regarded  as  a  well-ascertained  fact  that, 
even  during  the  human  period,  the  pleasant  and  sunny 
valleys  of  England  and  of  France  have  been  inhabited 
by  the  gigantic  Irish  elk,  two  species  of  elephant,  and 
three  of  rhinoceros,  together  with  the  reindeer,  a  large 
bear  closely  resembling  the  grizzly  bear  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  a  bison  scarcely  distinguishable  from  that  of 
the  American  Prairies,  the  musk-ox  of  Arctic  America, 
the  lemming  of  the  Siberian  steppes,  the  lion  of  the 
Tropics,  the  hyaena  of  the  Cape,  and  a  hippopotamus 
closely  resembling  that  of  the  great  African  rivers. 

Influenced  mainly  by  the  presence  of  the  great  pachy- 
derms, and  particularly  by  that  of  the  hippopotamus, 
M.  d'Archaic  was  disposed  to  consider  that  the  climate 
of  the  quaternary  period  was  warmer  than  ours,^  while 
M.  Lartet^  suggests  that  we  may  have  had  a  climate  like 
that  of  Chili,  where,  as  Mr  Darwin  had  pointed  out, 
glaciers  actually  come  down  to  the  sea-level  in  latitudes 

1  Litems  stir  la  Faune  Quaternairc,  pp.  15,  16. 

2  Lartet,  Antt.  des  Sc.  Nat.,  1867,  p.  2)7- 


CLIMATE   OF   QUATERNARY   PERIOD     305 

corresponding  with  that  of  our  south  coast  and  the 
northern  provinces  of  France. 

In  other  respects,  however,  the  fauna  of  the  quaternary 
deposits  indicates  a  more  severe  cHmate.  The  presence 
of  the  reindeer  and  musk  ox,  the  lemming  and  the 
marmot,  corroborated,  as  we  shall  see  in  the  next  chapter, 
by  physical  evidence,  leaves  little  doubt  on  this  subject. 
Moreover,  we  must  remember  that  the  tichorhine  rhino- 
ceros and  the  mammoth  were  not  only  well  provided 
against  cold,  but  in  some  cases  were  enveloped  in  the  ice 
and  frozen  mud  of  the  Siberian  rivers  so  soon  after  death 
that  the  flesh  had  not  had  time  to  decay.  Much  weight 
is  also  to  be  attributed,  I  think,  to  the  presence  of  smaller 
quadrupeds,  as,  for  instance,  of  the  lemming  and  lagomys. 

Yet  it  cannot  be  denied  that  some  of  the  species,  and 
particularly  the  hippopotamus,  indicate  a  warmer  climate. 
Even  if  protected  by  fur,  as  Sir  J.  Prestwich  supposes,  this 
animal  could  never  live  in  a  country  where  the  rivers 
were  frozen  every  winter.  To  meet  this  difficulty,  a 
suggestion  has  been  thrown  out  that  it  may  have  made 
annual  migrations.  In  the  Gulf  of  Penas,  on  the  west 
coast  of  South  America,  lat.  47°  S.,  Mr  Darwin  has 
pointed  out  that  glaciers  now  "  descend  to  the  sea  within 
less  than  nine  degrees  of  latitude  from  where  palms  grow, 
less  than  two  and  a  half  from  arborescent  grasses,  less 
than  two  from  orchideous  parasites,  and  within  a  single 
degree  of  tree-ferns."^  The  reindeer  in  America  makes, 
we  know,  very  extensive  annual  migrations,  but  a  heavy 
animal  like  the  hippopotamus  could  hardly  do  so.  I  am, 
therefore,  rather  disposed  to  believe  that  the  presence  of 
the  hippopotamus,  the  E.  andquus^  and  R.  leptorhinus 
indicates  that  the  climate  of  the  quaternary  period  was 
not  uniformly  severe,  but  contained  at  least  one  interval 
of  exceptional   mildness. 

The  late  M.  Morlot,  well  known  as  an  excellent  and 
careful  observer,  was,  I  believe,  the  first  to  point  out  that, 
in  Switzerland,  there  was  evidence  of  three  periods  of 
great  extension  of  the  glaciers,  separated  by  epochs  of 

1  Researches  in  Geology  and  Natural  History,  p.  285. 

20 


3o6  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

comparative  warmth.  And  in  Great  Britain  also  there  is 
strong  geological  evidence  of  the  existence  of  several  such 
warm  interglacial  periods.^ 

We  shall  also  see  presently  that  if  the  cold  of  the  glacial 
epoch  was  due  to  the  astronomical  causes  pointed  out  by 
M.  Adhemar  and  Mr  CroU,  the  period  of  extreme  cold 
must  have  been  followed  by  one  of  unusual  warmth,  or 
rather  there  must  have  been  several  oscillations  of  climate 
from  unusual  heat  to  extreme  cold. 

I  am  disposed  then,  on  the  whole,  to  consider  that  the 
quaternary  fauna  consists  of  two  different  groups,  belong- 
ing to  different  periods  and  to  (at  least)  two  different 
conditions  of  climate,  one  warmer  than  the  present,  the 
other  colder.  The  whole  subject,  however,  while  of  great 
interest,  is  also  one  of  extreme  difficulty,  and  I  shall  return 
to  it  more  at  length  in  a  subsequent  chapter.  On  many 
points  we  must  be  contented  to  suspend  our  judgment, 
but  we  may  at  least  regard  it  as  proved  that,  since  the 
appearance  of  man,  there  have  been  great  changes  in  the 
fauna  of  Western  Europe,  which  then  contained  several 
important  species,  either  now  altogether  extinct,  or  exist- 
ing only  in  distant  parts  of  the  world. 

1  Geikie,  The  Great  Ice  Age  ;  Croll,  Climate  and  Time. 


CHAPTER   X 


PRIMEVAL    MAN 


It  would  be  quite  impossible,  within  the  limits  of  a  single 
chapter,  to  describe  all  the  caves  in  which  human  remains 
have  been  found  in  association  with,  and  apparently- 
belonging  to,  the  same  period  as  those  of  the  extinct 
mammalia.  I  will  only  call  attention  to  a  few  of  those 
which  have  been  most  thoroughly  examined,  and  by  the 
researches  in  which  the  conclusions  appear  to  be  satis- 
factorily established. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  observe  that  a  great  number  of 
caves  present  evidence  of  having  been  occupied  during 
times  long  subsequent  to  those  which  we  are  now  con- 
sidering ;  but  for  the  Neolithic  Age,  as  well  as  for  all  later 
periods,  we  have,  as  has  been  already  mentioned,  other 
sources  of  information,  and  more  satisfactory  evidence  than 
anv  which  can  be  derived  from  the  examination  of  caves. 

Some  writers,  indeed,  have  gone  so  far  as  to  question 
altogether  the  value  of  what  may  be  called  cave  evidence. 
They  have  suggested  that  the  bones  of  extinct  animals 
may  have  lain  in  the  caves  for  ages  before  the  appearance 
of  man  ;  that  relics  of  the  human  period  may  have  been 
introduced  subsequently  ;  and  that  remains  belonging  to 
very  different  periods  may  have  been  mixed  together. 
This  was,  for  instance,  the  conclusion  arrived  at  by 
M,  Desnoyers,  even  so  recently  as  the  year  1845,  in  his 
article  on  Bone-caves.^     Unless  this  argument  admitted 

^  "  Recherches  Geologiques  et  Historiques  sur  les  Cavernes,  particu- 
li^rement  sur  les  cavernes  a  ossements,"  Dictionnaire  Uiiiversel  d Histoire 
Naturelle. 

307 


3o8  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

of  a  satisfactory  answer,  it  must  be  conceded  that  the 
evidence  derivable  from  cave  contents  would  always  be 
liable  to  grave  suspicion.  I  trust,  however,  to  be  able  to 
show  that  this  is  not  the  case. 

As  long  ago  as  the  year  1828,  MM.  Tournal  and 
Christol  in  the  south  of  France  had  found  fragments  of 
pottery  and  human  bones  and  teeth  intermingled  with 
remains  of  extinct  animals  ;  and  M.  Tournal  distinctly 
expressed  the  opinion  that  these  had  certainly  not  been 
washed  in  by  any  diluvial  catastrophe,  but  must  have  been 
introduced  gradually.  The  presence  of  pottery,  however, 
throws  much  doubt  on  the  supposed  antiquity  of  these 
remains. 

A  few  years  later,  in  1833  and  1834,  Dr  Schmerling^ 
published  an  account  of  his  researches  in  some  caves  near 
Liege  in  Belgium.  In  four  or  five  of  these  he  found 
human  bones,  and  in  all  of  them  rude  implertients,  princi- 
pally flint  flakes,  were  discovered,  scattered  in  such  a 
manner  among  the  remains  of  the  mammoth,  Rhinoceros 
tichorhinus^  cave-hysena,  and  cave-bear,  that  Dr  Schmerling 
referred  them  to  the  same  period.  One  feels  a  natural 
surprise  that  such  animals  as  these  should  ever  have  been 
natives  of  England  and  France,  ever  have  wandered  about 
among  our  woods  or  along  our  streams  ;  but  when  it  was 
also  suggested  that  they  were  contemporary  with  man, 
surprise  was  succeeded  by  incredulity.  Yet  these  cave 
researches  appear  to  have  been  conducted  with  care,  and 
the  principal  results  have  been  confirmed  by  more  recent 
discoveries. 

The  hesitation,  however,  with  which  the  statements  of 
Dr  Schmerling  were  received  by  scientific  men  arose,  no 
doubt,  partly  from  the  fact  that  some  of  the  fossil  remains 
discovered  by  him  were  certainly  referred  to  wrong  species, 
and  partly  because,  with  reference  to  several  of  the  extinct 
species,  and  especially  to  the  mammoth,  he  expressed  the 
opinion  that  the  remains  had  been  brought  from  a  distance, 
and  had  very  likely  been  washed  out  of  some  earlier  bed. 

^  Recherchcs  sur  Ics  Ossemenis  Fossiles  dccouverts  datts  les  Cavernes 
de  la  Province  de  Liege,  par  le  Dr  P.  C.  Schmerling. 


FRENCH   AND    BELGIAN   CAVES        309 

Even,  therefore,  though  Dr  Schmerling  might  be  quite 
right  in  his  conclusion  that  the  human  remains  had  been 
"  enfouis  dans  ces  cavernes  a  la  m6me  epoque,  et  par 
consequent  par  les  memes  causes  qui  y  ont  entrain^  une 
masse  d'ossements  de  differentes  especes  eteintes,"  still  it 
would  not  necessarily  follow  that  man  had  lived  at  the 
same  period  as  these  extinct  species. 

Careful  explorations  of  the  Belgian  caves  were  subse- 
quently made,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Government,  by 
M.  E.  Dupont.^  These  caverns  belong  principally  to  the 
so-called  Reindeer  Period,  and  the  flint  implements  are 
never  ground.  Thus  out  of  30,000  worked  flints  found 
in  the  cavern  of  Chaleux,  and  1200  in  those  of  Furfooz, 
not  one  presents  a  trace  of  grinding.  Some  of  these  flint 
flakes,  etc.,  appear  to  consist  of  Pressigny  (Touraine) 
flint,  and,  in  the  opinion  of  Dr  Dupont,  as  well  as  of 
M.  de  Mortillet,  must  have  come  from  that  distant 
locality.  In  this  cavern  the  humerus  of  an  elephant  was 
discovered,  but  in  M.  Dupont's  opinion,  founded  on  the 
state  of  the  bone,  it  belonged  to  an  earlier  period  than 
the  other  remains.  Human  bones  have  been  found  in 
several  of  these  caverns.  The  Trou  du  Frontal  contained 
bones  belonging  to  no  less  than  thirteen  individuals. 
They  had  probably  been  buried  in  the  cave,  the  entrance 
to  which  seemed  to  have  been  purposely  closed  by  a  large 
block  of  stone.  When  discovered  they  were  in  great 
confusion,  having,  in  the  opinion  of  MM.  Dupont  and 
Van  Beneden,  been  disturbed  and  rearranged  by  water. 
The  form  of  the  cavern,  and  the  fact  that  the  opening 
was  in  great  measure  closed  by  the  above-mentioned 
stone,  seem  to  me  to  speak  strongly  against  this  suggestion, 
and  I  should  rather  regard  the  disturbance  of  the  bones 
as  due  to  foxes  and  badgers.  The  Trou  de  la  Naulette 
contained  a  very  remarkable  lower  jaw,  of  which  M. 
Dupont  says  that  "  regarde  dans  la  face  interne,  elle  ofire 
une  telle  proclivite  d'arriere  en  avant  de  la  partie  symphy- 
saire  qu'on  est  porte  a  y  voir  un  prognatisme  tout  animal. 

'  Notices  Prclijuinaires  sur  les  I'^ouillcs  execuices  sous  les  auspices  du 
Gouvernement  Jieli^e  ciatis  les  Cavernes  de  la  Belt^ique,  1867. 


3IO  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

Les  apophyses  g6m  ne  sont  pas  indiqu^es  ;  les  fossettes 
lat6rales  sont  tres-prononcees,  et  le  rebord  mentonnier  est 
reduit  a  son  minimum.  Les  alveoles  des  canines,  bien 
que  tres-rapprochees  des  alveoles  des  incisives,  et  des 
molaires,  nous  rappellent  la  disposition  qu'on  observe  sur 
la  machoire  du  singe.  En  effet,  I'alveole  qui  logeait  la 
canine  est  fort  vaste  et  bombee  a  la  face  externe.  Ce  qui 
semble  plus  etrange  encore,  c'est  que  les  trois  alveoles  des 
grosses  molaires  presentent  absolument  I'ordre  typique 
du  maxillaire  simien  par  I'augmentation  progressive  des 
alveoles  de  la  premiere  a  la  deuxieme  et  a  la  troisieme 
molaire." 

The  celebrated  cavern  of  Kent's  Hole,  near  Torquay, 
was  examined  by  Mr  MacEnery  as  long  ago  as  1825. 
He  did  not,  however,  publish  his  notes  on  the  subject, 
and  they  remained  in  manuscript  until  1859,  when  Mr 
Vivian  succeeded  in  obtaining  them.  Mr  MacEnery 
found  human  bones,  flint  flakes,  etc.,  but  all  either 
on  the  surface  or  in  disturbed  soil,  so  that  on  the 
whole  he  regarded  them,  though  apparently  with 
much  doubt,  as  posterior  to  the  remains  of  the  cave-bear, 
hyaena,  etc. 

In  the  year  1840,  Mr  Godwin-Austen  communicated 
to  the  Geological  Society  a  memoir  on  the  Geology  of  the 
south-east  of  Devonshire,^  and  in  his  description  of  Kent's 
Hole  he  says,  that  "  human  remains  and  works  of  art, 
such  as  arrow-heads  and  knives  of  flint,  occur  in  all  parts 
of  the  cave,  and  throughout  the  entire  thickness  of  the 
clay  :  and  no  distinction  founded  on  condition,  distribution, 
or  relative  position,  can  be  observed,  whereby  the  human 
can  be  separated  from  the  other  reliquiae,"  which  included 
bones  of  the  "  elephant,  rhinoceros,  ox,  deer,  horse,  bear, 
hyaena,  and  a  feline  animal  of  large  size."  The  value,  he 
truly  adds,  "  of  such  a  statement  must  rest  on  the  care 
with  which  a  collector  may  have  explored.  I  must  there- 
fore state  that  my  own  researches  were  constantly  con- 
ducted in  parts  of  the  cave  which  had  never  been  dis- 
turbed, and  in  every  instance  the  bones  were  procured 

^    Transactio7is  of  the  Ceol.  Soc,  Ser.  2,  vol.  vi.  p.  433. 


KENT'S   HOLE— BRIXHAM    CAVE       311 

from  beneath  a  thick  covering  of  stalagmite  ;  so  far,  then, 
the  bones  and  works  of  man  must  have  been  introduced 
into  the  cave  before  the  flooring  of  stalagmite  had  been 
formed."  Notwithstanding  the  high  authority  of  Mr 
Godwin-Austen,  these  statements  attracted  little  attention  ; 
and  the  very  similar  assertions  made  by  Mr  Vivian,  in  a 
paper  read  before  the  Geological  Society,  were  considered 
so  improbable  that  the  memoir  containing  them  was  not 
published. 

They  have,  however,  been  completely  confirmed  by  the 
systematic  examination  which  was  instituted  by  the  British 
Association.  Worked  flints  were  found  less  abundantly 
in  the  lower  layers  than  near  the  surface,  but  several 
were  discovered  under  circumstances  which  left  no 
doubt  that  they  were  deposited  at  the  same  time  as  the 
bones  of  the  large  mammalia.  The  researches  were 
carried  on  by  a  Committee,  consisting  of  Sir  C.  Lyell, 
Mr  Busk,  Sir  J.  Evans,  Professor  Phillips,  Mr  Vivian, 
Mr  Pengelly,  and  myself,  and  the  work  was  under  the 
more  immediate  superintendence  of  Mr  Pengelly  and 
Mr  Vivian. 

In  May  1858,  Dr  Falconer  called  the  attention  of 
the  Geological  Society  to  a  newly-discovered  cave  at 
Brixham,  near  Torquay,  and  a  Committee  was  appointed 
to  assist  him  in  examining  it.  Grants  of  money  were 
obtained  for  the  same  object  from  the  Royal  Society 
and  Miss  Burdett  Coutts.  In  addition  to  Dr  Falconer, 
Mr  Busk,  Sir  J.  Evans,  Mr  Pengelly,  Sir  J.  Prestwich, 
and  Professor  Ramsay  were  entrusted  with  the  in- 
vestigations. In  September  1858  a  preliminary  notice 
was  published  by  the  Geological  Society,  but  the  General 
Report  is  contained  in  the  Philosophical  Transactions  for 

The  deposits  in  the  cave  were,  in  descending  order — 

(i)  Stalagmite  of  irregular  thickness. 

(2)  Ochreous  cave-earth  with  limestone  breccia. 

(3)  Ochreous  cave-earth  with  comminuted  shale. 

(4)  Rounded  gravel. 


312  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

The  organic  remains  belonged  chiefly  to  the  following 
species  : — 

(i)  Elephas  primigenius. 

(2)  Rhinoceros     tichorhinus.      Teeth     in     considerable 

numbers  and  an  astragalus. 

(3)  Bos  primigenius. 

(4)  Bos. 

(5)  Equus  cahallus. 

(6)  Cervus  tarandus.     The  reindeer — skull  and  horns. 

(7)  Cervus  elaphus.     Horns. 

(8)  C.  capreolus. 

(9)  Ursus  spelaus — the  cave-bear.     Lower  jaws,  teeth, 
etc. 

(10)  U.ferox. 

(11)  U.  arctos. 

(12)  Hyaena  speUa.     Lower  jaws,  teeth,  fragments  of 

skulls,  and  other  bones. 

(13)  Fetis  speUa. 

(14)  Lagomys. 

Several  flint  flakes  were  also  found  indiscriminately 
mixed  with  these  bones,  and,  according  to  all  appearance, 
of  the  same  antiquity.  They  occurred  at  various  depths, 
from  ten  inches  to  eleven  feet,  and  some  of  them 
were  in  the  gravel,  below  the  whole  of  the  ochreous 
cave-earth. 

Again,  in  the  grotto  of  Maccagnone,  in  Sicily, 
Dr  Falconer  found  human  traces,  consisting  of  ashes  and. 
rude  flint  implements,  in  a  breccia  containing  bones  of 
the  Elephas  antiquus^  of  the  hyasna,  of  a  large  Ursus^  of  a 
Felis  (probably  F.  spelad)^  and  especially  with  large 
numbers  of  bones  belonging  to  the  hippopotamus.  The 
"  ceneri  impastati,"  or  concrete  of  ashes,  had  at  one  time 
filled  the  cavern,  and  a  large  piece  of  bone  breccia  was 
still  cemented  to  the  roof,  but  owing  to  some  change  in 
the  drainage  the  greater  part  had  been  washed  out  again. 
The  presence  of  the  hippopotamus  sufficiently  proves  that 
the  geographical  conditions  of  the  country  must  have 
been    very    difi^erent    from    what    they  are    now  ;    but    I 


SICILIAN   CAVE  313 

cannot  do  better  than  quote  Dr  Falconer's  own  summary 
of  his  observations  in  this  case  : 

"  The  vast  number  of  Hippopotami  implied  that  the 
physical  condition  of  the  country  must  have  been  greatly 
different,  at  no  very  distant  geological  period,  from  what 
obtains  now.  He  considered  that  all  deposits  above  the 
bone  breccia  had  been  accumulated  up  to  the  roof  by 
materials  washed  in  from  above,  through  sinuous  crevices 
or  flues  in  the  limestone,  and  that  the  uppermost  layer, 
consisting  of  the  breccia  of  shells,  bone-splinters,  siliceous 
objects,  burnt  clay,  bits  of  charcoal,  and  hyaena  coprolites, 
had  been  cemented  to  the  roof  by  stalagmitic  infiltration. 
The  entire  condition  of  the  large  fragile  Helices  proved 
that  the  effect  had  been  produced  by  the  tranquil  agency 
of  water,  as  distinct  from  any  tumultuous  action.  There 
was  nothing  to  indicate  that  the  different  objects  in  the 
roof  breccia  were  other  than  of  contemporaneous  origin  :  subse- 
quently a  great  physical  alteration  in  the  contour,  altering 
the  flow  of  superficial  water  and  of  the  subterranean 
springs,  changed  all  the  conditions  previously  existing, 
and  emptied  out  the  whole  of  the  loose  incoherent  contents, 
leaving  only  the  portions  agglutinated  to  the  roof.  The 
wreck  of  these  ejecta  was  visible  in  the  patches  of  *  ceneri 
impastati,'  containing  fossil  bones,  below  the  mouth  of 
the  cavern.  That  a  long  period  must  have  operated  in 
the  extinction  of  the  hyaena,  cave-lion,  and  other  fossil 
species  is  certain,  but  no  index  remains  for  its  measure- 
ment. The  author  would  call  the  careful  attention  of 
cautious  geologists  to  the  inferences — that  the  Maccagnone 
Cave  was  filled  up  to  the  roof  within  the  human  period, 
so  that  a  thick  layer  of  bone  splinters,  teeth,  landshells, 
hyaenas'  coprolites,  and  human  objects,  was  agglutinated 
to  the  roof  by  the  filtration  of  water  holding  lime  in 
solution  ;  that  subsequently,  and  within  the  human 
period,  such  a  great  amount  of  change  took  place  in  the 
physical  configuration  of  the  district  as  to  have  caused 
the  cave  to  be  washed  out  and  emptied  of  its  contents, 
excepting  the  patches  of  material  cemented  to  the  roof, 
and  since  coated  with  additional  stalagmite." 


314  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

Similar  proofs  of  great  and  recent  geographical  changes 
have  been  afforded  by  the  examination  of  certain  Spanish 
caves.  The  Rock  of  Gibraltar  abounds  in  caverns 
containing  human  remains,  with  stone,  bone,  and 
bronze  implements,  mixed  with  those  of  domesticated 
animals,  such  as  the  goat  and  ox.  In  the  bone 
breccia  from  the  Genista  Cave  and  fissure,  Mr  Busk 
and  Dr  Falconer  have  discovered  Hy^na  crocuta^  an 
existing  African  species,  the  leopard,  lynx,  serval  and 
Barbary  stag,  together  with  Rh.  hemit^chus  and  a 
specibs  of  ibex.  But,  although  it  is  more  than  prob- 
able, it  does  not  appear  to  be  proved,  that  man 
co-existed  with  these  animals  on  the  Rock  of  Gibraltar. 
Among  some  bones  found  in  another  cave  near  Madrid, 
M.  Lartet  has  discovered  molars  of  the  existing  African 
elephant. 

M.  Lartet^  has  also  described  with  his  usual  ability  an 
interesting  grotto,  or  small  cave,  which  was  discovered 
some  years  ago  at  Aurignac,  in  the  south  of  France.  A 
peasant  named  Bonnemaison,  seeing  a  rabbit  run  into  a 
hole  on  a  steep  slope,  put  his  hand  in,  and  to  his 
surprise  pulled  out  a  human  bone.  Curiosity  urged 
him  to  explore  farther,  and  on  removing  a  quantity  of 
rubbish,  he  found  a  large  block  of  stone,  which  almost 
closed  up  the  entrance  to  a  small  chamber,  in  which 
were  no  less  than  seventeen  human  skeletons.  Un- 
fortunately for  science,  the  Mayor  of  Aurignac,  hearing 
of  these  discoveries,  collected  the  human  bones,  had 
them  reburied,  and  when  M.  Lartet  some  years 
afterwards  explored  the  cavern,  they  could  not  be  found 
again. 

After  carefully  examining  the  locality,  M.  Lartet  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  this  small  cavern  had  been  used 
as  a  burial-place,  and  from  the  remains  of  bones  broken 
for  marrow,  and  marks  of  fire  immediately  outside 
the  cave,  he  inferred  that  funeral  feasts  had  been  held 
there. 

The    following   is   the   list   of    species   determined  by 

^  Ann.  des  Sc.  Nat..,  1861,  p.  177. 


AURIGNAC 


315 


M.    Lartet,    together    with    the  approximate  number  of 
individuals  belonging  to  each  : — 


Number  of  individuals. 


(I 
(2 
(3 
(4 
(5 

(6 
(7 
(8 
(9 
(>° 

(>■ 
(12 

(■3 
(H 

(15 
(16 

(■7 
(18 

('9 


Cave  bear  {Ursjis  speUus) 
Brown  bear  (JJ.  arctos  f) 
Badger  {Meles  taxus)     . 
Polecat  {Putorius  vulgaris) 
Cave  lion  (Felts  speUd) 
Wild  cat  (F.  catus) 
Hyaena  (Hy^na  spelcea) 
Wolf  (Cams  lupus) 
Fox  (C.  vulpes)     . 
Mammoth  {Elephas  primigenius). 
Two  molars  and  an  astragalus. 
Rhinoceros  (Rhinoceros  tichorhinus) 
Horse  (Equus  caballus)  . 
Ass  ?  ^  {E.  asinus)  . 
Boar  (Sus  scrofa).     Two  incisors. 
Stag  [Cervus  elaphus)     . 
Irish  elk  (Megaceros  hibernicus) 
Roe  (C  capreolus) 
Reindeer  (C.  tarandus)  . 
Aurochs  (Bison  europaus) 


5— 


2 


5-  6 

3 
18 — 20 


I 

12- 

I 


15 


I 
I 

3— 
10 — 

12 — 15 


4 
12 


Some  of  these  were  found  in  the  grotto,  others  outside  ; 
the  latter  had  been  gnawed  by  some  large  carnivorous 
animal,  no  doubt  the  hyaena,  coprolites  of  which  were 
found  among  the  ashes.  On  the  other  hand,  the  bones 
inside  the  cave  were  untouched,  from  which  M.  Lartet 
concludes  that  after  the  funeral  feasts,  hyaenas  came  and 
devoured  all  that  had  been  left  by  the  men,  but  that  they 
could  not  effect  an  entrance  into  the  cave  on  account  of 
the  large  block  of  stone  by  which  the  entrance  was 
closed,  and  which  was  actually  found  in  its  place  by 
Bonnemaison. 

In  addition  to  the  hyaena,  the  animals  occurring  in  this 
list,  and  yet  no  longer  existing,  or  known   historically  to 


'  This  is,  I  presume,  a  small  variety  of  horse,  and  not  the  true  ass. 
The  query  is  in  the  original. 


3i6  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

have  existed  in  France,  are  the  reindeer,  cave-bear, 
rhinoceros,  cave-lion,  Irish  elk,  and  mammoth.  The 
contemporaneity  of  the  reindeer  with  man  is  very  evident  ; 
all  the  bones  are  broken  for  marrow,  and  many  bear  the 
marks  of  knives,  besides  which,  the  greater  number  of 
the  bone  implements  are  made  out  of  the  bones  or  horns 
of  this  species.  That  the  rhinoceros  also  was  contempor- 
aneous with  man  is  inferred  by  M.  Lartet,  firstly,  on 
chemical  grounds,  the  bones  of  this  species,  as  well  as 
those  of  the  reindeer,  aurochs,  etc.,  having  retained  the 
same  amount  of  nitrogen  as  the  human  bones  from  the 
same  locality  ;  and  secondly,  because  the  bones  appear 
to  have  been  broken  by  man,  and  in  some  cases  are 
marked  by  knives.  Moreover,  he  has  ingeniously  pointed 
out  that  these  bones  must  have  belonged  to  an  individual 
recently  killed,  because,  after  having  been  broken  by  man, 
they  were  gnawed  by  the  hyaenas,  which  would  not  have 
been  the  case  if  they  had  not  been  fresh  and  still  full  of 
their  natural  juices. 

The  elephant  was  represented  only  by  some  detached 
plates  of  molars  and  a  calcaneum.  This  latter  was  the 
only  gnawed  bone  found  in  the  interior  of  the  grotto. 
He  is  of  opinion  that  these  plates  were  purposely 
separated,  and  the  calcaneum  appears  to  have  been  placed 
in  the  vault  at  the  time  of  the  last  interments  ;  but  there 
is  no  evidence  that  it  was  then  in  a  fresh  condition. 
Indeed,  the  fact  of  its  being  gnawed  seems  rather  to 
point  the  other  way. 

Remains  of  the  Ursus  spelaus  (cave-bear)  were  much 
more  abundant,  and  some  of  them  were  found  in  the 
grotto.  In  one  case  a  whole  limb  appears  to  have  been 
buried  with  the  flesh  on,  as  the  diff^erent  bones  were  all 
found  together.  It  is  well  known  that  food  and  drink 
were  in  ancient  times  frequently  buried  with  the  dead, 
and  M.  Lartet  thinks  that  we  may  account  in  this  manner 
for  the  bones  of  quadrupeds  found  in  the  grotto  at 
Aurignac. 

I  have  given  the  particulars  of  this  case  at  length, 
because,  if  the  evidence  was   well  established,  we  should 


WOKEY   HOLE  317 

here  have  an  instance  of  a  sepulture  belonging  to  the 
period  at  which  the  cave-bear,  the  reindeer,  the  Irish 
elk,  the  woolly-haired  rhinoceros,  and  probably  the 
mammoth,  still  lived  in  the  south  of  France.  It  is,  how- 
ever, much  to  be  regretted  that  M.  Lartet  was  not  present 
when  the  place  was  first  examined  ;  and,  under  all  the 
circumstances,  we  cannot,  I  think,  feel  satisfied  that  the 
human  remains  found  in  this  cave  were  coeval  with  those 
of  the  extinct  mammalia. 

Another  remarkable  case  is  that  of  the  Hyaena-den  at 
Wokey  Hole,  near  Wells,  which  has  been  ably  explored 
and  described  by  Mr  Boyd  Dawkins.^  In  this  instance 
the  cave  was  filled  with  debris  up  to  the  very  roof,  and 
it  appears  that  the  accumulation  of  material  was  partly 
due  to  the  disintegration  of  the  dolomitic  conglomerate 
forming  the  roof  and  walls  of  the  cavern,  and  partly  to 
the  sediment  washed  in  gradually  by  rain  and  small 
streams.  It  is  evident  that  the  bones  and  stones  were 
not  brought  into  the  cave  by  the  action  of  water  ;  firstly, 
because  none  of  the  bones  are  at  all  rolled  ;  secondly, 
because,  though  several  rude  flint  implements  were  found 
in  the  cave,  only  one  single  unworked  flint  was  met  with  ; 
and  thirdly,  because,  in  some  cases,  fragments  of  the 
same  bone  have  been  found  close  together,  while,  if  they 
had  been  brought  from  a  distance,  it  is  almost  incredible 
that  they  should  have  been  again  deposited  close  to  one 
another.  Again,  there  are  several  layers — one  over  the 
other — of  album  graxum,  that  is  to  say,  the  excrement 
of  hyaenas,  each  of  which  indicates,  of  course,  an  old  floor, 
and  a  separate  period  of  occupation  ;  so  that  the  presence 
of,  at  least,  one  such  floor  above  some  of  the  flint  imple- 
ments, proves  two  things  :  firstly,  that  the  hyaenas  which 
produced  the  album  gracum  occupied  the  cave  after  the 
savages  who  used  the  flint  instruments  ;  and,  secondly, 
that  these  implements  have  not  been  disturbed  by  water 
since  the  period  of  the  hyaena. 

During  the  last  years  of  his  life,  Mr  Christy  examined 
and  described,  in  conjunction  with  M.  Lartet,  with  great 

'   (2uart.  Journ.  Gcol.  Soc,  May  1862,  p.  115. 


3i8  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

care  a  number  of  small  caves  and  rock-shelters  in  the 
Dordogne,  some  of  which  had  already  attracted  the 
attention  of  archaeologists.-^  These  raves  are  particularly- 
interesting,  because,  so  far  at  least  as  we  can  judge  from 
the  present  state  of  the  evidence,  the  remains  found  in 
them  belong  to  M.  Lartet's  Reindeer  Period,  and  tend, 
therefore,  to  connect  the  later  Stone  or  Neolithic  Age 
with  the  period  of  the  river-drifts  .and  the  great  extinct 
mammalia  ;  representing  a  period  about  which  we  had 
previously  very  little  information.  Those  which  have 
been  most  carefully  examined  are  ten  in  number,  viz. 
Laugerie,  La  Madelaine,  Les  Eyzies,  La  Gorge  d'Enfer, 
Le  Moustier,  Liveyre,  Pey  de  I'Aze,  Combe-Granal,  and 
Badegoule,  most  of  which  I  have  myself  had  the  advantage 
of  visiting.  Some  of  these,  as,  for  instance,  Les  Eyzies 
and  Le  Moustier,  are  at  a  considerable  height  above  the 
stream,  but  others — as  those  at  La  Madelaine  and 
Laugerie — are  little  above  the  present  flood-line,  showing, 
therefore,  that  the  level  of  the  river  is  now  nearly  the 
same  as  it  was  at  the  period  during  which  these  caves 
were  inhabited. 

The  rivers  of  the  Dordogne  run  in  deep  valleys  cut 
through  calcareous  strata  ;  and  while  the  sides  of  the 
valleys  in  chalk  districts  are  generally  sloping,  in  this 
case,  owing  probably  to  the  hardness  of  the  rock,  they 
are  often  vertical.  Small  caves  and  grottos  frequently 
occur  ;  besides  which,  as  the  different  strata  possess  un- 
equal power  of  resistance  against  atmospheric  influences, 
the  face  of  the  rock  is,  as  it  were,  scooped  out  in  many 
places,  and  thus  "  rock-shelters  "  are  produced.  In  very 
ancient  times  these  caves  and  rock-shelters  were  inhabited 
by  men,  who  have  left  behind  them  abundant  evidences 
of  their  presence.  But  as  civilization  advanced,  Man,  no 
longer  content  with  the  natural  but  inconvenient  abode 
thus  offered  to  him,  excavated  chambers  for  himself,  and 
in  places  the  whole  face  of  the  rock  is  honeycombed 
with  doors  and  windows  leading  into  suites    of   rooms, 

*  De  VOrigine  et  dc  rEnfa?ice  des  Arts  eti  Pcrigofd,  par  M.  I'Abbe 
Audierne. 


FAUNA   OF   THE   DORDOGNE   CAVES     319 

often  in  tiers  one  over  another,  so  as  to  suggest  the  idea 
of  a  French  "  Petra."  Down  to  a  comparatively  recent 
period,  as,  for  instance,  in  the  troublous  times  of  the 
Middle  Ages,  many  of  these,  no  doubt,  served  as  very 
efficient  fortifications,  and  even  now  some  of  them  are 
still  in  use  as  storehouses,  and  for  other  purposes,  as  at 
Brantome,  where  there  is  an  old  chapel  cut  in  the  solid 
rock.  Apart  from  the  scientific  interest,  it  was  impossible 
not  to  enjoy  the  beauty  of  the  scene  which  passed  before 
our  eyes  as  we  dropped  down  the  Vezere.  As  the  river 
visited  sometimes  one  side  of  its  valley,  sometimes  the 
other,  so  we  had  at  one  moment  rich  meadowlands  on 
each  side,  or  found  ourselves  close  to  the  perpendicular 
and  almost  overhanging  cliff.  Here  and  there  we  came 
upon  some  picturesque  old  castle,  and  though  the  trees 
were  not  in  full  leaf,  the  rocks  were  in  many  places  green 
with  box  and  ivy  and  evergreen  oak,  which  harmonized 
well  with  the  rich  yellow  brown  of  the  stone  itself. 

But  to  return  to  the  bone-caves.  Remains  of  the 
cave-bear  have  been  found  at  the  Pey  de  FAze,  of  the 
cave-hyaena  at  Le  Moustier,  and  separated  plates  of 
elephant  molars  have  occurred  at  Le  Moustier  and  at 
Laugerie,  accompanied  at  the  latter  place  by  a  piece  of 
a  pelvis.  As  regards  the  two  first  species,  MM.  Christy 
and  Lartet  regard  them  as  probably  belonging  to  an 
earlier  period  than  the  human  remains  found  in  the  same 
caves.  The  presence  of  the  pelvis  has  been  regarded  as 
an  evidence  of  the  contemporaneity  of  the  mammoth 
with  the  reindeer  hunters  of  Laugerie,  and  it  is  certainly 
difficult  to  see  why  they  should  have  brought  a  fossil- 
bone  into  their  cave,  more  especially  as  the  bones  of 
elephants,  from  the  looseness  of  their  texture,  are  not 
well  adapted  for  implements. 

As  regards  the  Felis  spelaa^  a  metacarpal  bone  belonging 
probably  to  this  species,  and  bearing  marks  of  knives, 
was  found  in  the  cave  of  Les  Eyzies. 

Still,  so  far  as  the  positive  zoological  evidence  is  con- 
cerned, the  antiquity  of  the  human  remains  found  in 
these  grottos  rests  mainly  on  the  presence  of  the  reindeer. 


320  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

as  regards  which  the  evidence  is  conclusive.  The  bones 
of  this  species  are  all  broken  open  for  the  marrow  ;  many 
of  them  bear  the  marks  of  knives,  and  at  Les  Eyzies  a 
vertebra  was  found  which  had  been  pierced  by  a  flint 
flake.  MM.  Christy  and  Lartet  are  quite  satisfied  that 
this  bone  must  have  been  fresh  when  it  was  thus  trans- 
fixed. Moreover,  as  we  shall  presently  see,  there  is  still 
more  conclusive  evidence  that  man  and  the  reindeer  were 
contemporaneous  in  this  locality. 

But  in  its  negative  aspect,  the  zoological  evidence  is 
also  very  instructive.  No  remains  have  been  found 
which,  in  the  opinion  of  MM.  Christy  and  Lartet,  can  be 
referred  to  domestic  animals.  It  is  true  that  bones  of 
the  ox  and  horse  occur,  but  there  is  no  evidence  that  they 
belonged  to  domesticated  individuals.  Remains  of  the 
boar  are  very  rare,  and  if  these  animals  had  been  domesti- 
cated we  might  have  expected  to  find  them  in  greater 
abundance.  The  sheep  and  goat  are  entirely  wanting, 
and,  what  is  still  more  remarkable,  even  the  dog  appears 
to  be  absent.  At  the  same  time,  the  bones  of  the  horse 
and  reindeer,  especially  of  the  latter,  are  very  numerous  ; 
but  MM.  Christy  and  Lartet  do  not  think  that  they  were 
domesticated.  On  the  other  hand,  M.  Riltimeyer  seems 
to  be  of  a  different  opinion.^  Of  the  bones  from  the 
cave  of  Veyrier  he  has  drawn  out  the  following  list  : 
Ptarmigan  31  individuals,  reindeer  18,  ibex  6,  horse  5, 
stag  4,  mountain  hare  4,  marmot  4,  chamois  i,  wolf  i, 
bear  i,  ox  i,  fox  i,  stork  i.  He  points  out  that  this  is 
decidedly  an  Alpine  fauna,  and  he  asks  why,  if  the 
reindeer  were  wild,  they  did  not  retire  into  the  high  Alps 
with  the  bear,  the  ibex,  and  the  chamois  ?  The  condition 
of  the  bones,  and  especially  of  the  horns,  will  enable  us 
some  day  to  answer  this  question,  but  we  have  at  present 
no  case  in  which  the  reindeer  and  the  horse  are  held  in 
domestication  together  by  the  same  race,  and  we  must  be 
satisfied  to  wait  for  further  evidence  before  the  question 
can  be  decided. 

In  the  collections  made  by  MM.  Christy  and  Lartet,  as 

^  Revue  Savoisienne,  2Sth  April  1868. 


FLINT   IMPLEMENTS  321 

well  as  that  of  M.  Le  VIcomte  de  Lastic  from  Bruniquel, 
a  very  large  proportion  of  the  animal  remains  consists  of 
teeth,  lower  jaws,  and  horns.  Other  bones  do  indeed 
occur,  but  they  form  a  small  fraction  of  the  whole.  Yet 
we  cannot  attribute  this  to  the  presence  of  dogs,  partly 
because  no  remains  of  this  species  have  yet  been  dis- 
covered, partly  because  the  bones  which  remain  have  not 
been  gnawed,  but  principally  because  dogs  eat  only  certain 
bones  and  parts  of  bones,  as  a  general  rule  selecting  the 
spongy  portions,  and  rejecting  the  solid  shafts. 

Sir  F.  Galton  has  pointed  out  that  some  of  the  savage 
tribes  of  Africa,  not  content  with  the  flesh  of  the  animals 
which  they  kill,  pound  up  also  the  bones  in  mortars,  and 
then  suck  out  the  animal  juices  contained  in  them.  So 
also,  according  to  Leems,  the  Danish  Laplanders  used  to 
break  up  with  a  mallet  all  the  bones  which  contained  any 
fat  or  marrow,  and  then  boil  them  until  all  the  fat  was 
extracted.-*^  The  Esquimaux  also  mash  up  the  bones 
for  the  sake  of  the  marrow  contained  in  them.^  Some 
of  the  ancient  stone  hammers  and  mortars  were  no  doubt 
used  for  this  purpose,  and  the  proportions  of  the  differ- 
ent bones  afford  us,  I  think,  indirect  evidence  that  a 
similar  custom  prevailed  among  the  ancient  inhabitants  of 
southern  France. 

Passing  on  now  to  the  flint  implements  found  in  these 
caves,  we  must  first  call  attention  to  their  marvellous 
abundance.  Without  any  exaggeration  they  may  be 
said  to  be  innumerable.  Of  course  this  adds  greatly  to 
the  value  of  the  conclusions  ;  nor  need  it  surprise  us, 
because  flint  is  so  brittle,  that  implements  made  of  it 
must  have  been  easily  broken,  and,  in  that  case,  the 
fragments  would  be  thrown  away  as  useless  ;  especially 
in  a  chalk  district  where  the  supply  of  flint  would,  of 
course,  be  practically  inexhaustible.  Many  implements, 
no  doubt,  would  be  left  unfinished,  having  been  rendered 
useless,  either  by  some  misdirected  blow,  or  some  flaw 

^  Account  of  Da?iish  Lapland,  by  Leems,  Copenhagen,  1767;  trans- 
lated in  Pinkerton's  Voyaj^es,  vol.  i.  p.  396. 

^  Hall,  Life  -with  the  Esquimaux,  vol.  ii.  pp.  147,  176. 

21 


322  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

in  the  flint.  Moreover,  we  should  naturally  expect  that, 
in  a  bone-breccia  of  this  nature,  the  flint  implements 
would  be  relatively  more  abundant  than  in  a  KJ5kken- 
modding.  Each  oyster  furnishes  but  a  single  mouthful, 
so  that  the  edible  portions  evidently  form  a  greater 
proportion  of  the  whole  in  the  mammalia  than  in  the 
mollusca.  The  Kjokkenmoddings,  therefore,  would  grow, 
cceteris  paribus^  more  rapidly  than  the  bone-breccia  ;  and 
supposing  the  flint  implements  to  be  equally  numerous 
in  both  cases,  they  would,  of  course,  be  more  sparingly 
distributed  in  the  former  than  in  the  latter. 

The  principal  objects  of  stone  found  in  the  bone-caves 
which  we  are  now  considering  are  flakes,  both  simple 
and  worked,  scrapers,  cores,  awls,  lance-heads,  cutters, 
hammers,  and  mortar-stones. 

The  simple  and  worked  flakes  are,  of  course,  very 
numerous,  but  they  do  not  call  for  any  special  observations. 
They  present  the  usual  varieties  of  size  and  form. 

Though  less  numerous  than  the  flakes,  the  scrapers  ^ 
are  still  very  abundant.  On  the  whole,  they  seem  to  me 
longer  and  narrower  than  the  usual  Danish  type.  Some 
of  them  were  probably  intended  to  be  used  in  the  hand, 
as  both  ends  are  fashioned  for  scraping.  They  may  be 
called  double-scrapers.  Others  were  apparently  fixed  in 
handles,  as  the  end  opposite  to  the  scraper  is  broken, 
sometimes  on  one  side,  sometimes  on  both,  so  as  to  form 
a  tapering  extremity,  which  may  have  been  fixed  in  a 
handle  either  of  wood,  bone,  or  horn.  Many  of  the 
flakes  are  also  nipped  off  at  one  end,  in  the  same  manner. 
Perhaps,  as  no  trace  of  such  a  handle  has  yet  been 
discovered  by  MM.  Christy  and  Lartet,  wood  was  the 
material  used  for  this  purpose. 

Of  course,  where  there  was  a  manufactory  of  flint 
flakes,  the  cores  or  nuclei,  from  which  they  were  struck, 
must  also  be  present.  I  was,  however,  astonished  at  the 
number  of  them  in  these  caves  ;  during  my  short  visit,  I 
myself  picked  out  more  than  ninety. 

Awls  and  saws  are  very  much  less  frequent,  but  some 

^  See  a/ite,  pp.  94,  95. 


IMPLEMENTS  FROM  THE  DORDOGNE     323 


few  good  specimens  have  been  found.  At  some  of  the 
stations,  curious  flat  implements  (fig,  217)  are  met  with. 
From  the  constancy  of  their  form,  which,  moreover,  is 
somewhat  peculiar,  we  may  safely  infer  that  they  were 
applied  to  some  definite  purpose.  For  hammers,  the 
reindeer  hunters  seem  to  have  used  round  stones,  a  good 
many  of  which  occur  in  the  caves,  and  which  bear  unmistak- 
able marks  of  the  purpose  to  which  they  were  applied. 
Some  of  them,  however,  may  have 
served  also  as  heaters.  The  North 
American  Indians,  the  Esquimaux, 
and  some  other  savages,  having  no 
pottery,  but  only  wooden  vessels, 
which  could  not  be  put  on  the  fire, 
used  to  heat  stones,  and  then  place 
them  in  the  water  which  they  wished 
to  boil.  Many  of  the  stones  found 
in  these  caverns  appear  to  have  been 
used  in  this  manner,  firstly  from  their 
position  on  the  lower  terraces,  and 
secondly  from  the  character  of  the 
implements. 

These,  the  commonest  sorts  of  flint 
implements,  are  found  indiscriminately 
in  all  the  grottos,  but  there  are  some 
other  types  which  appear  to  be  less 
generally  distributed.     Thus,  at  Lau-  ^ig.  217.— Flat  stone  im- 

'^      .  1     T»     1  1  r  r        plement  of  uncertain  use, 

gene  and  Badegoule,  fragments  or  actual  size, 
leaf-shaped  lance-heads,  almost  as  well 
worked  as  some  of  those  from  Denmark,  are  far  from 
uncommon.  If,  therefore,  we  were  to  attempt  any  classi- 
fication of  the  grottos,  according  to  the  periods  of  their 
occupation,  we  might  be  disposed  to  refer  these  to  a 
somewhat  later  period  than  most  of  the  others.  On  the 
contrary,  to  judge  from  the  flint  implements,  the  station 
at  Le  Moustier  would  be  the  most  ancient.  Though 
it  would  perhaps  be  premature  to  attempt  any  such 
classification,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  Le  Moustier 
presents    some    types     not     yet     found    in    the    other 


324 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


caves,  and   resembling   in   certain   respects   those   of  the 
drift. 

One  of  these  peculiar  forms  has  one  side  left  un- 
chipped,  and  apparently  intended  to  be  held  in  the  hand, 
while  the  other  has  a  cutting  edge,  produced  by  a  number 
of  small  blows.  Some  of  these  instruments  are  of  large 
size,  and  they  are  supposed  by  MM.  Christy  and  Lartet 
to  have  been  used  for  cutting  wood,  and  perhaps  also  the 

large  bones  of  mammalia. 
Another  very  interesting 
type  is  figured  in  figs. 
2 1 8-2  20.  This  specimen 
is  worked  on  both  sides, 
but  more  frequently  one 
of  them  is  left  flat. 
MM.  Christy  and  Lartet 
regard  this  type  as  identi- 
cal with  the  "  lance-head  " 
implements  found  in  the 
drift.  I  cannot  altogether 
agree  with  them  in  this 
comparison.  Not  only 
are  the  Le  Moustier 
specimens  smaller,  but 
the  workmanship  is  differ- 
ent, being  much  less  bold. 
Moreover,  the  flat  sur- 
face (fig.  2 1 8,  a)  is  no 
individual  peculiarity.  It  is  very  frequently,  not  to 
say  generally,  present,  and  occurs  also  on  the  similar 
implement  found  by  Mr  Boyd  Dawkins  in  the  Hyaena- 
den  at  Wokey  Hole,  and  figured  by  him  in  the 
Geological  Journal,  May  1862,  No.  70,  p.  119.  This 
very  interesting  type  seems  rather  to  be  derived  from 
the  "  cutters  "  above  described,  at  the  same  time  its  re- 
semblance to  the  drift  forms  is  certainly  great.  MM. 
Christy  and  Lartet,  indeed,  call  the  implements  of  this 
type  "lance-heads  "  ;  but  it  may  well  be  doubted  whether 
they  were  intended  for  use  in  this  manner,  though  there 


Fig.  218. — Stone  implement,  resembling 
in  some  respects  those  characteristic  of 
the  drift  gravels,  actual  size. 


IMPLEMENTS   FROM   THE   DORDOGNE     325 


are  other  specimens  at  Le  Moustier  which  have  all  the 

appearance    of    having    been    intended 

for  this  purpose.     On  the  whole,  then, 

although  these  Le  Moustier  types  are 

of  great  interest,  we  must  pause  before 

we    regard  them   as    belonging   to   the 

drift  forms.      No  polished  implements 

have   yet  been   found   in   any  of  these 

caverns. 

The  station  at  Moustier  has  not  as 
yet  produced  any  implements  made  of 
bone,  but  a  good  many  have  been 
obtained  from  the  other  caves.  "  They 
consist  of  square  chisel-shaped  imple- 
ments ;  round,  sharply-pointed,  awl- 
like tools,  some  of  which  also  may  have 
served  as  the  spike  of  a  fish-hook  ; 
harpoon-shaped  lance-heads  ;  plain  or 
barbed  arrow-heads  with  many  and 
double  barbs,  cut  with  wonderful 
vigour ;  and  lastly,  eyed  needles  of 
compact  bone  finely  pointed,  polished,  and  drilled  with 
round  eyes,  so  small  and  regular  that  some  of  the  most 


Fig.  219. — Fig.  218, 
seen  from  the  side. 


Fig.  220. — Fig.  218,  seen  from  the  other  side. 

assured  and  acute  believers  in  all  the  other  findings  might 
well  doubt  whether  they  could  indeed  have  been  drilled 


326 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


with  stone,  until  their  repetition  by  the  hand  of  that 
practical  and  conscientious  observer,  Monsieur  Lartet,  by 
the  very  stone  implements  found  with  them,  has  dis- 
pelled their  honest  doubts."  ^  Moreover,  we  must 
remember  that  the  New  Zealanders  were  able  with  their 
stone  tools  to  drill  holes  even  through  glass.^  No  pottery 
^j^  ^  has  yet  been  found  in  these  caves.     It  is 

doubtful  whether  the  bow  was  in  use,  but 
it  is  interesting  that  they  seem  to  have 
invented  the  throwing-stick. 

So  far,  then  (with  the  exception,  per- 
haps, of  the  well-worked  lance-heads  of 
Laugerie  and  Badegoule),  all  the  evidence 
we  have  yet  obtained  from  these  caves 
points  to  a  very  primitive  period,  earlier 
even  than  that  of  the  first  Swiss  lake- 
villages,  or  Danish  shell-mounds. 

But    there    is    one    class   of    objects    in 

these    caves    which,    taken    alone,    might 

have  led  us  to  a  very  different  conclusion. 

No  representation,  however  rude,  of  any 

animal  has  yet  been  found  in  any  of  the 

Danish   shell-mounds,  or   the   Stone   Age 

Fig.  221.— Acyiin-  lake-villages.       Even    on    objects    of    the 

dricai    piece    of  Bronzc  Age  they  are  so  rare  that  it  is  doubt- 

which    are  'en-  ^^1   whether  a    single    well  -  authenticated 

graved  two  out-  instance  could  be  produced.     Yet  in  these 

lines  of  fishes,  one  ,     .      ,  ^  r   ■        i  i 

on  each  side,  archaic  Done-caves,  many  very  rair  sketches 
have  been  found,  scratched  on  bone  or 
stone  with  a  sharp  point,  probably  of  a  flint  implement. 
In  some  cases  there  is  even  an  attempt  at  shading.  In 
the  Annales  des  Sciences  Naturelles^  M.  Lartet  had  already 
made  known  to  us  some  rude  drawings  found  in  the  cave 
of  Savigne,  and  in  his  last  memoir  he  has  described  and 
figured  some  more  objects  of  a  similar  character. 

In  the  Dordogne  caves  also,  several  of  these  remark- 

^  Christy,  Trans.  Ethn.  Soc,  New  Series,  vol.  iii. 
^  Cook's  First  Voyage,  p.  464. 
-*  Afin.  des  Sc.  Nat.,  1861,  vol.  xv. 


ENGRAVINGS   ON   BONE 


327 


able  drawings  have  been  discovered,  under  circumstances 
which  seem  to  guarantee  their  authenticity.  Fig.  221 
represents  a  cylindrical  piece  of  reindeer's  horn,  found  at 
La  Madelaine,  and  on 
which  are  carved  two 
outlines  of  fishes,  one 
on  each  side.  Fig. 
222  is  the  piece  of 
the  palm  of  a  rein- 
deer's horn,  on  which 
is  represented  the 
head  and  chest  of  an 
ibex.  Fig.  223  repre- 
sents a  very  curious 
group,  consisting  of 
a  snake,  or  rather  eel, 
a  human  figure,  and 
two  horses'  heads.  Fig.  224  is  a  spirited  group  of  rein- 
deer, and  fig.  225  is  considered  to  represent  a  mammoth  ; 
it  was  found  at  La  Madelaine,  and  the  engraving  was  for 
some  time  unnoticed,  as  it  is  rather  faint  and  obscured  by 
numerous  scratches.  It  is  on  a  piece  of  mammoth's  tusk, 
and  indications  of  long  hair  will  readily  be  perceived. 


Fig.  222. — Piece  of  the  palm  of  a  reindeer's 
antler,  on  which  is  engraved  the  head  and  neck 
of  an  ibex. 


Fig.  223. — Group  of  figures. 

In  one  case  there  is  an  unmistakable  representation  of 
a  glove,  or  rather  gauntlet.  Another  interesting  specimen 
is  a  poniard  cut  out  of  a  reindeer's  horn  (fig.  226). 
The  horns  are  thrown  back  on  the  neck,  the  forelegs  are 
doubled  up  under  the  belly,  and  the  hindlegs  are  stretched 
out  along  the  blade.  Unfortunately,  the  poniard  seems 
to  have  been  thrown  away  before  it  was  quite  finished, 
but  several  of  the  details  indicate  that    the    animal  was 


328  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

intended  for  a  reindeer.  Messrs  Dawkins  and  Miall 
have  also  found  an  engraving  of  a  horse  on  a  bone  from 
the  Caves  of  Creswell  Crags.  Many  other  specimens 
have  since  been  discovered.  In  a  cave  at  Combarelles, 
near  Tayac,  MM.  Capitan  and  Breuil  found  64  figures  of 
entire  animals  and  43  heads  (see  figs.  207,  213)  :  equine 
23,  bovine  3,  bisons  2,  reindeer  3,  mammoths  14,  ibex  3, 
Antilope  saiga^  \}  Besides  these  primitive  sculptures 
and  engravings  coloured  pictures  have  been  found.     The 


Fig.  224. — Group  ot  reindeer. 

first  were  discovered  by  M.  de  Sautuola  in  the  cave  of 
Altamira  near  Santander  (Spain)  in  1875  (^^^  %^'  ^^^j 
212,  and  Plates).  Some  years  later  M.  Riviere  found 
others  in  the  cave  of  La  Mouthe,  M.  Daleau  in  the 
Gironde,  and  M.  Moissan  in  the  classical  locality  of  Les 
Eyzies.  MM.  Capitan  and  Breuil  have  more  recently 
discovered  a  long  series  in  the  cave  of  Font-de-Gaume. 
Some  of  the  horses  have  drawings  on  them  which  almost 
seem  to  represent  coverings  and  halters,  and  to  indicate 
that  they  were  domesticated.^  Although  it  is  natural  to 
feel  some  surprise  at  finding  these  works  of  art,  still  there 

^  "Gravures  pal6o.  de  la  Grotte  des  Combarelles,"  ^z^//.  Soc.  Anthr., 
Paris,  1902. 
'■^  Rev.  de  tEcoIe  d'Anth?opologie,  1902,  p.  39. 


WILD  BOAR. 

From  a  painting  on  the  roof  of  the  Cave 
of  Altamira,  Spain. 

AFTER   A  DRAWING  BY 
M.    H     BREUIL. 


CAVE   DRAWINGS 


329 


330 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


are  instances  among  recent  savages  of  a  certain  skill  in 
drawing  and  sculpture  being  accompanied  by  an  entire 
ignorance  of  metallurgy.  This  is  particularly  the  case 
with  the  Esquimaux,  some  of  whose  drawings  will  be 
reproduced  in  a  future  chapter.  M.  Delechette  gives  ^  a 
list  of  twenty  French  and  Spanish  caves  on  the  walls  of 
which  drawings  occur. 

In    considering    the    probable    con- 
dition of  these   ancient  cave-men,  we 
must  give  them   full   credit   for   their 
("'^a"!/  love  of  art,  such  as  it  was  ;  while,  on 

V  Wlh  the  other  hand,  the  want  of  metal,  of 

polished  flint  implements,  and  even  of 
pottery,'^  the  ignorance  of  agriculture, 
and  the  apparent  absence  of  all  domestic 
animals,  including  even  the  dog,  cer- 
tainly imply  a  very  low  state  of 
civilization  and  a  very  considerable 
antiquity. 

There  is  also  evidence  that  a  con- 
siderable change  of  climate  must  have 
taken  place.  The  reindeer  is  the  most 
abundant  animal,  and  evidently  formed 
the  principal  article  of  food  ;  while  we 
know  that  this  species  is  now  confined 
to  Arctic  climates,  and  could  not  exist 
in  the  south  of  France.  Again,  the  ibex 
and  the  chamois,  both  of  which  are  now 
restricted  to  the  snowy  summits  of  the 
Alps  and  Pyrenees,  and  a  species  of  spermophilus,  also 
point  to  the  same  conclusion.  The  presence  of  the  two 
former  species  in  some  of  the  Swiss  lake-dwellings  is  not 
equally  significant,  because  they  are  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  high  mountains,  while  the  highest  hills  of  the  Dordogne 
do  not  reach  to  an  altitude  of  much  more  than  eight 
hundred  feet. 


Fig.  226.— Poniard  of 
reindeer  horn. 


'  Afan.  d'Archeol.  Prehist.,  p.  241. 

^  Pottery  is,  however,  very  rare  in  the  remains  of  the  Irish  crannoges, 
and  is  not  by  any  means  abundant  in  the  Danish  shell-mounds. 


MEN   OF   THE   DORDOGNE   CAVES     331 

Another  very  interesting  species  determined  by  M.  Lartet 
is  the  Antilope  Sa'igo  of  Pallas,  which  now  abounds  on  the 
steppes  of  North-Eastern  Europe  and  Western  Asia,  in 
the  plains  of  the  Dnieper  and  the  Volga,  round  the  shores 
of  the  Caspian,  and  as  far  as  the  Altai  Mountains.  Mr 
Christy  tells  us  that  the  northern  plains  of  Poland,  and 
the  valley  of  the  Dneiper,  are  the  southern  limits  of  this 
species  at  the  present  day. 

Again,  the  accumulation  of  animal  remains  in  these 
caves  is  itself,  as  Mr  Christy  has  ingeniously  suggested, 
a  good  evidence  of  change  in  the  climate.  We  know 
that  the  Esquimaux  at  present  allow  a  similar  deposit  to 
take  place  in  their  dwellings,  but  this  can  only  be  done  in 
Arctic  regions  ;  in  such  a  climate  as  that  now  existing  in 
the  south  of  France,  such  an  accumulation  would,  except 
of  course  in  the  depth  of  winter,  soon  become  intolerably 
offensive. 

So  far,  then,  as  the  present  evidence  relating  to  the 
Dordogne  Caves  is  concerned,  it  appears  to  indicate  a 
race  of  men  living  almost  as  some  of  the  Esquimaux  do 
now,  and  as  the  Laplanders  did  a  few  hundred  years  ago  ; 
and  a  period  intermediate  between  that  of  the  polished 
stone  implements  and  of  the  great  extinct  mammalia  ; 
apparently  also  somewhat  more  ancient  than  that  of  the 
shell-mound  builders  of  Denmark.  The  cases  in  which 
the  remains  of  cave-men  have  been  found  in  associa- 
tion with  those  of  the  cave-tiger,  the  cave-bear,  the 
cave-hyaena,  and  the  mammoth,  are,  I  think,  con- 
clusive evidence  that  they  must  be  referred  to  the  same 
period. 

As  regards  the  earliest  races  of  men  themselves,  we 
have,  unfortunately,  but  very  little  information.  For, 
although  fragmentary  human  bones  have  been  frequently 
found,  there  are,  as  yet,  very  few  cases  on  record  in  which 
skulls  have  been  obtained  in  such  a  condition  as  to  allow 
of  restoration,  or  of  which  the  age  is  incontestable.  For 
instance,  remains  of  man,  though  rare  in  the  lo^ss,  have 
been  described  by  Ami  Boue,  Faudel,  Crahay,  Wurm- 
brand,  Ecker,  and  others  ;  but,  as  the  latter  has  himself 


332 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


suggested,^  from  the  composition  of  loess,  and  from  the 
habit  of  making  underground  chambers  in  it,  which  make 


Fig.  227.— The  Neanderthal  skull,  seen  from  the  side,  one-half  natural  size. 

excellent  cellars,  and  even  dwellings — so  to  say,  cave- 
dwellings — it  is  difficult  to  satisfy  oneself  that  the  remains 
are  clearly  contemporaneous  with  the  deposit  of  the  loess. 


Fig.  228. — Ditto,  seen  from  the  front. 


The  earliest  remains  of  man  found  in  Northern  Europe 
belong  to  three  well-marked  types,  the  Neanderthal, 
Cromagnon,  and  Chancelade  types.    A  skull  of  the  Nean- 

'  Archiv  fiir  Anthropologie,  1875,  p.  99. 


THE   NEANDERTHAL   SKULL 


333 


derthal  type  was  acquired  in  1 700,  by  Duke  Eberhard  of 
Wtlrtemberg,  from  Cannstatt,  near  Stuttgart,  but  not 
described  until  the  year  1835.  The  skulls  of  this  type 
are  narrow  and  low,  with  very  large  frontal  ridges.  To 
it  belongs  the  celebrated  skull  (figs.  227-229)  found  in  a 
limestone  cave  in  the  Neanderthal,  near  Hochdal,  between 
DUsseldorf  and  Elberfeld.    This  remarkable  specimen  was 


Fig.  229. — The  Neanderthal  skull,  seen  from  above,  one-half  natural  size. 

first  described  by  Schaafhausen,^  and  "  under  whatever 
aspect,"  says  Prof.  Huxley,^  "we  view  this  cranium, 
whether  we  regard  its  vertical  depression,  the  enormous 
thickness  of  its  supraciliary  ridges,  its  sloping  occiput, 
or  its  long  and  straight  squamosal  suture,  we  meet 
with  ape-like  characters,  stamping  it  as  the  most  pithe- 
coid of  human  crania  yet  discovered."  The  shape  of 
this  skull  is  so  remarkable,  that  as  long  as  it  stood 
alone  considerable  doubt  was  naturally  felt  whether,  in  the 

•  Muller's  Archiv,  1858  ;  Nat.  Hist.  Rev..,  1861. 
^  Loc.  cit.,  p.  1 56. 


334 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


words  of  Busk,  it  represented  "  an  individual  peculiarity 
or  a  typical  character."  Subsequently,  however,  two 
other  skulls,  almost  identical  in  form,  have  been  dis- 
covered in  the  talus  at  the  outside  of  a  cave  at  Spy, 
in  Belgium  (fig.  230).  These  skulls,  though  not  entirely, 
were  more  complete,  and  were  associated  with  other  bones, 
indicating  a  short,  robust,  prognathous  race.^  The  Nean- 
derthal race  were  short,  not  probably  exceeding  5  feet 
4  inches  ;   but  very  powerfully  built,  and  with   a   brain 

as  large  as,  or  even  a  little 
larger  than,  that  of  an 
average  European  of  the 
present  day. 

The  second,  the  "  Crom- 
agnon  "  or  "  Engis  "  type, 
has  also  narrow  skulls, 
which,  however,  unlike  those 
of  the  preceding  type,  are 
high.  To  it  belongs  the 
celebrated  skull,  discovered 
by  Dr  Schmerling  in  the 
cave  of  Engis,  near  Liege 
(figs.  231-232).  As  regards  form,  it  might  have  been 
that  of  a  modern  European.  "  There  is  no  mark  of 
degradation  about  any  part  of  its  structure.  It  is,  in  fact, 
a  fair  average  human  skull,  which  might  have  belonged 
to  a  philosopher,  or  might  have  contained  the  thoughtless 
brains  of  a  savage."  ^  To  the  same  type  belong  the  skulls 
found  at  Cromagnon,  in  the  Dordogne.^  It  was  a  tall 
race,  in  some  cases  attaining,  or  even  exceeding,  six  feet. 

Several  other  skulls,  more  or  less  imperfect,  of  this 
type  have  since  been  discovered,  amongst  which  may  be 
specially  mentioned  a  woman's  skull  from  a  Gibraltar  cave, 
a  skeleton  found  at  La  Chapelle  in  the  Correze  (fig.  233), 
two  in  the  Dordogne,  and  a  skull  from  Salley  Hill,  near 
Northfleet. 


Fig.  230. — The  Spy  skull. 


1  Poydt  and  Lohert,  An?t.  Soc.  Biol.  Belgiquc^  1886. 

2  Huxley,  Maris  Place  in  Nature,  p.  156. 
^  Reliquicc  Aquitanica^  part  vi. 


ENGIS   AND   CHANCELADE   SKULLS     335 

The  third,  or  Chancelade,  race  is  represented  by  one 


Fig,  231. — The  Engis  skull,  seen  from  above. 

well-preserved  skull  (fig.  234),  described  by  M.  Testut.^ 
It  belonged  to  a  man  about  five  feet  high,  who  Prof.  Sollas, 


Fig.  232. — Ditto,  seen  from  the  front. 


President  of  the  Geological  Society,  in  his  annual  address 
for  1909,  says  "was  beyond  doubt  an  Eskimo."     That 

'  Bull.  Soc.  Anihtop.,  Lyon,  vol.  viii.,  1889. 


336 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


the  Esquimaux  once  extended  to  Western  Europe  I 
quite  believe.  We  find  not  only  the  animals  with  which 
they  are  even  now  associated,  but  implements  closely 
resembling,  it  might  almost  be  said  identical  with,  those 
which  they  still  use. 


Fig.  233. — Skull  from  La  Chapelle  aux  Saints. 

The  remains  of  a  fourth  race  have  been  discovered  in 
the  caves  at  Mentone,  so  carefully  examined  by  the  Prince 
of  Monaco.  Remains  of  sixteen  bodies  were  found,  two 
of  them  nearly  complete.  The  skulls  are  of  a  distinctly 
Negroid  type.^  No  remains  of  this  race  have  yet  been 
found  in  Northern  Europe. 

They    have  been   described   by   M.   Verneau,   and,  in 

^  Verneau,  Les  Groties  de  Grinialdi,  1906. 


EARLY   RACES   OF   MAN  337 

M.  Piette's  opinion,  belonged  to  a  race  resembling  the 
present  Bushmen  or  Hottentots. 

These  four  races  of  men,  while  presenting  certain  ape-like 
characters,  and,  in  the  Neanderthal  race  at  any  rate,  a  very- 
savage  and  brutal  aspect,  have  large  brains,  and  are  un- 
mistakably human.  This  cannot  be  said  for  the  skull, 
or  rather  skull-top,  discovered  about  twenty  years  ago  by 
Dr  Dubois  in  Java,  at  a  depth  of  thirty  feet,  in  gravel,  which 
may  be  either  pliocene  or  pleistocene.  The  skull  is  so 
low  and  flat  as  much  to  resemble,  though  much  larger 
than,  that  of  an  existing  Gibbon.  The  brain  represented 
about  900  units,  the  average 
for  the  Gorilla  being  about 
500,  for  the  Australian  1200, 
and  the  European  1500. 
There  has  been  much  differ- 
ence of  opinion  among  ana- 
tomists as  to  whether  it  was 
that  of  a  man  or  a  monkey, 
and  having  had,  through  the 

courtesy     of     Dr     Dubois,     an      Fig.  234.— Skull  from  Chancelade 

opportunity  of  carefully  exam-  (Dordogne). 

ining    it,   I   feel  much   doubt 

whether  it  should  be  described  as  that  of  a  large  Gibbon, 
or  as  belonging  to  a  man  of  a  very  small  and  distinct  race. 

But  the  most  ape-like  of  all,  except  of  course  the  Pithe- 
canthropus of  Java  (fig.  235),  are  the  remains  recently 
discovered  by  Mr  Dawson  at  Piltdown  near  Uckfield  in 
Sussex.  The  lower  jaw,  if  found  by  itself,  would  certainly 
have  been  referred  to  an  anthropoid  ape,  though  the  teeth 
are  decidedly  human.  The  skull  is  of  great  thickness,  and 
happily  well  enough  preserved  to  permit  of  a  cast  showing 
the  brain,  which  is  of  so  lowly  a  type  that  Prof.  Elliot 
Smith  doubts  whether  the  creature  possessed  the  power 
of  articulate  speech.  Though  more  a  man  than  a 
monkey,  both  he  and  Dr  A.  S.  Woodward  consider  it  to 
be  not  only  a  different  species,  but  even  to  differ 
generically. 

All   the   remains   which   can  be   regarded    as   certainly 

22 


338 


PREHISTORIC  TIMES 


palaeolithic  are  long-headed,  or  dolichocephalic.  The 
short-headed  race  has  not  been  proved  to  have  reached 
Western  Europe  till  the  Neolithic  Period.  Some  archaeolo- 
gists, indeed,  are  disposed  to  consider  that  the  advent  of 
this  race  coincides  with  the  commencement  of  the  Neo- 
lithic Period. 

Even,  however,  in  Palaeolithic  times,  Europe  appears 


Fig,  235. — Bones  of  Pithecanthropus  erecttis. 

to  have  been  already  occupied  by  more  than  one  race  of 
man.  Under  these  circumstances,  great  as  is  undoubtedly 
the  antiquity  of  these  remains,  they  do  not  in  any  way 
represent  the  earliest  men,  but  there  must  have  been 
another,  and  perhaps  still  longer  period,  in  which  these 
varieties  were  gradually  developed  ;  and  Prof.  Huxley 
was  of  opinion  that  "  they  indicate  an  epoch  more  distant 
from  the  age  of  the  Elephas  primigenius  than  that  is 
from  us." 


CAVE   EXPLORATIONS  339 

If  space  permitted,  I  would  gladly  have  referred  to 
other  cave  explorations  ;  to  those,  for  instance,  of  Dr 
Regnoli  and  others  in  Italy,  of  the  Marquis  de  Vibraye, 
M.  Garrigou,  M.  Bourguignet,  M.  Filhol,  and  many 
other  archaeologists  in  the  south  of  France,  where  these 
researches  have  been  prosecuted  with  great  energy  and 
success.  In  bur  own  country,  Mr  Boyd  Dawkins  has 
published  an  excellent  work  on  the  subject,^  and  it  is 
impossible  in  the  limits  of  a  single  chapter  to  do  justice 
to  these  and  other  observers. 

I  trust,  then,  that  the  evidence  brought  forward  in  this 
chapter  has  been  sufficient  to  prove  that  the  presence  in 
bone-caves  of  ancient  implements  and  human  remains, 
associated  with  those  of  extinct  mammalia,  is  no  rare  or 
exceptional  phenomenon.  Nor,  if  we  look  at  the  question 
from  a  scientific  point  of  view,  is  there  anything  in  this 
that  ought  to  excite  our  astonishment.  Since  the  period 
at  which  these  caves  were  filled  up,  the  changes  which 
have  taken  place  have  resulted  rather  in  the  extinction 
than  in  the  creation  of  species.  The  stag,  the  horse,  the 
boar,  the  dog,  in  short,  all  our  existing  forms  of  mammalia, 
were  already  in  existence  ;  and  there  would  have  been  in 
reality  more  just  cause  for  surprise  if  man  alone  had  been 
unrepresented. 

'  Cave-Huntmg. 


CHAPTER  XI 


RIVER-DRIFT    GRAVEL-BEDS 


While  we  have  been  straining  our  eyes  to  the  East,  and 
eagerly  watching  excavations  in  Egypt  and  Assyria, 
suddenly  a  new  light  has  arisen  in  the  midst  of  us  ;  and 
the  oldest  relics  of  man  yet  discovered  have  occurred,  not 
among  the  ruins  of  Nineveh  or  Heliopolis,  not  on  the 
sandy  plains  of  the  Nile  or  the  Euphrates,  but  in  the 
pleasant  valleys  of  England  and  France,  along  the  banks 
of  the  Seine  and  the  Somme,  the  Thames  and  the 
Waveney. 

So  unexpected  were  these  discoveries,  so  irreconcilable 
with  even  the  greatest  antiquity  until  lately  assigned  to 
the  human  race,  that  they  were  long  regarded  with 
neglect  and  suspicion.  M.  Boucher  de  Perthes,  to  whom 
we  are  principally  indebted  for  this  great  step  in  the 
history  of  mankind,  observed,  as  long  ago  as  the  year 
1 84 1,  in  some  sand  containing  mammalian  remains,  at 
Menchecourt,  near  Abbeville,  a  flint,  rudely  fashioned 
into  a  cutting  instrument.  In  the  following  years  other 
weapons  were  found  under  similar  circumstances,  and 
especially  during  the  formation  of  the  Champ  de  Mars  at 
Abbeville,  where  a  large  quantity  of  gravel  was  moved  and 
many  of  the  so-called  "  hatchets  "  were  discovered.  In 
the  year  1846,  M.  Boucher  de  Perthes  published  his  first 
work  on  the  subject,  entitled  De  V Industrie  Primitive^ 
ou  les  Arts  et  leur  Or'igine.  In  this  he  announced  that 
he  had  found  human  implements  in  beds  unmistakably 
belonging  to  the  Age  of  the  Drift.  In  his  Antiquites 
Celtiques  et  Antedi/uviennes  (iS^y),  he  also  gave  numerous 

340 


RIVER-DRIFT   GRAVEL-BEDS  341 

illustrations  of  these  stone  weapons,  but  unfortunately 
the  figures  were  rude,  and  did  but  scanty  justice  to  the 
originals.  For  seven  years  M.  Boucher  de  Perthes  made 
few  converts  ;  he  was  looked  upon  as  an  enthusiast, 
almost  as  a  madman.  At  length,  in  1853,  Dr  Rigollot, 
till  then  sceptical,  examined  for  himself  the  drift-beds  at 
the  now  celebrated  St  Acheul  near  Amiens,  found  several 
weapons,  and  believed.  Still  the  new  creed  met  with  but 
little  favour  ;  prophets  are  proverbially  without  honour 
in  their  own  country,  and  M.  Boucher  de  Perthes  was 
no  exception  to  the  rule.  At  last,  however,  the  tide  turned 
in  his  favour.  In  1859  Dr  Falconer  examined  his  collec- 
tion, and  on  his  return  to  England  called  the  attention  of 
English  geologists,  and  especially  of  Sir  J.  Prestwich,  and 
of  Sir  John  Evans,  to  the  importance  of  his  discoveries. 

My  first  visit  to  the  Somme  valley  was  made  in 
company  with  Sir  John  Evans,  Mr  Busk,  Sir  D.  Galton,  and 
Sir  J.  Prestwich  in  i860,  and  I  communicated  the  results 
to  the  Natural  History  Review^  in  an  article  "On  the 
Evidence  of  the  Antiquity  of  Man  afforded  by  the  Physical 
Structure  of  the  Somme  Valley."  ^  I  have  seen  no  reason 
to  modify  the  general  conclusions  contained  in  that  article, 
of  which,  indeed,  this  chapter  is  in  the  main  a  reprint. 

We  examined  carefully  not  only  the  flint  weapons,  but 
also  the  beds  in  which  they  were  found.  For  such  an 
investigation,  indeed,  our  two  countrymen  were  especially 
qualified  :  Sir  J.  Prestwich,  from  his  long  study  and  pro- 
found knowledge  of  the  tertiary  and  quaternary  strata  ; 
and  Sir  J.  Evans,  from  his  intimate  acquaintance  with  the 
stone  implements  belonging  to  what  we  must  now  consider 
as  the  second,  or  at  least  the  more  recent.  Stone  Period. 
On  our  return  to  England,  Sir  J.  Prestwich  communicated 
the  results  of  his  visit  to  the  Royal  Society,^  while  Sir 
J.  Evans  described  the  implements  themselves  in  the 
Transactions  of  the  Society  oj  Antiquaries.^ 

'  Natural  History  Review,  1862,  pp.  244-269. 

2  "On  the  Occurrence  of  Flint  Implements  associated  with  the  Remains 
of  Extinct  Species,  in  Beds  of  a  late  Geological  Period," /V«7.  Trans.,  i860. 
2  "Flint  Implements  in  the  Dnii,"  Archceologia,  1860-62. 


342 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


This  important  discovery  is  due  to  M.  Boucher  de 
Perthes.  There  has,  however,  long  been  in  the  British 
Museum  a  similar  stone  weapon,  described  as  follows  : — 
"No.  246.  A  British  v^t2C<^o\\^  found  with  elephant's  toothy 
opposite  to  Black  Mary's,  near  Grayes  inn  lane.  Conyers." 
It  has  a  large  black   flint,  shaped   into   the   figure   of   a 


Fig.  236. — Rude  flint  implement  from  the  drift 
gravel  at  Hoxne,  one-half  actual  size. 


Fig.  237. — Ditto,  side 
view. 


soear's  point.  Sir  J.  Evans  tells  us,  moreover  (Joe.  cit., 
p.  22),  that  a  rude  engraving  of  it  illustrates  a  letter  on 
the  "  Antiquities  of  London,"  by  Mr  Bagford,  dated  1715, 
printed  in  Hearne's  edition  of  Leland's  Collectanea.,  vol.  i. 
6,  p.  Ixiii.  From  his  account  it  seems  to  have  been 
found  with  a  skeleton  of  an  elephant,  in  the  presence  of 
Mr  Conyers.  This  most  interesting  weapon  agrees  exactly 
with  some  of  those  found  in  the  valley  of  the  Somme. 


FLINT   IMPLEMENTS   FROM    DRIFT     343 


Sir  J.  Evans,  on  his  return  from  Abbeville,  observed 
in  the  museum  belonging  to  the  Society  of  Antiquaries 
some  specimens  exactly  like  those  in  the  collection  of 
M.  Boucher  de  Perthes.  On  examination,  it  proved 
that  they  had  been 
presented  by  Mr 
Frere,  who  found 
them  with  bones  of 
extinct  animals  in  a 
gravel-pit  at  Hoxne 
in  Suffolk,  and  had 
well  described  and 
figured  them  in  the 
Archaologia  for  the 
year  1 800.  This 
communication  is  of 
so  much  interest  that 
I  have  thought  it 
desirable  to  repro- 
duce his  figures  (figs. 
236-237,239-240). 

Excavations  un- 
dertaken at  Hoxne 
under  the  auspices 
of  the  British  Asso- 
ciation^ have  shown 
that  the  brick  earth 
containing  the 
palaeolithic  imple- 
ments lie  over  glacial 
boulder  clay.  Mr 
Clement  Reid  has  shown  that  similar  relations  also  occur 
in  the  Hitchin  valley.^ 

Again,  in  1835,  ^'"  Whitburn,  of  Godalming,^  while 
examining  the  gravel  pits  between  Guildford  and 
Godalming,  remarked  a  peculiar  flint,  which  he  carried 
away,    and    has    since    preserved    in    his    collection.       It 

'  Report,  1896.  2  Geol.  Mag.,  1897. 

^  Prestwich, /oz/'r.  Gcol.  Soc,  August  1861. 


Fig.  238. — Stone  implement,  Madras. 


344 


PREHISTORIC  TIMES 


belongs  to  the  "  drift "  type,  but  is  very  rude.     Thus, 
this  peculiar  type   of  flint  implement  has  been   actually 


Fig.  239. — Palaeolithic  implement. 


Fig.  240. — The  same,  side  view. 


found  in  association  with  the  bones  of  the  mammoth  on 
various  occasions  during  nearly  a  hundred  and  fifty 
years  !  While,  however,  these  instances  remarkably 
corroborate    the    statements    made    by    M.    Boucher   de 


FLINT   IMPLEMENTS   FROM    DRIFT     345 

Perthes,  they  in  no  way  detract  from  the  credit  due  to 
that  gentleman. 

In  addition  to  the  above-mentioned,  similar  hatchets 
have  been  found  in  various  other  localities,  as  for  instance 
by  Mr  Warren,  at  Icklingham  ;  by  Mr  Leech,  near 
Heme  Bay  ;  by  Sir  John  Evans  himself  at  Abbot's 
Langley  and  elsewhere  ;  by  Mr  Norman  at  Greenstreet 
Green  in  Kent ;  by  Messrs  Whitaker  and  Hughes,  near 
Dartford  ;  in  fact,  similar  discoveries  have  been  made  in 
most  of  our  south-eastern  counties. 


Fic;.  241  — Reconstructed  flint,  Thames  valley. 

Mr  Spurrell  actually  found  near  Crayford  in  Kent  the 
spot  where  some  of  these  ancient  men  had  been  making 
their  implements.  It  was  on  the  bank  of  the  Thames, 
and,  probably  by  some  flood,  had  been  covered  over  with 
loam,  which  had  then  accumulated  to  some  depth  without 
disturbing  the  flakes  and  chips.  The  illustration  (fig.  242) 
shows  the  chalk  cliff,  the  brick  earth  and  the  floor  on 
which  the  flakes  were  lying.  By  great  patience  he  found 
some  that  fitted,  and  he  was  even  able  to  reconstruct  the 
original  flint.  Fig.  241,  from  the  Journal  of  the  Geological 
Society^  shows  one  of  these  reconstructed  flints.     One  of 

'  Geo  I.  Soc,  1880. 


346 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


the  pieces  has  J.  L.  on  it.  Mr  Spurrell  has  found  all  the 
rest,  and  the  day  I  was  with  him  I  found  this  flake, 
which  completes  the  specimen. 

In  the  gravel  near  Bedford,  again,  associated  with  the 
remains  of  the  mammoth,  rhinoceros,  hippopotamus,  ox, 
horse,  and  deer,  Mr  Wyatt  ^  has  found  flint  implements 
resembling  both  of  the  two  principal  types  found  at 
Abbeville  and  Amiens.  This  case  is  interesting,  because 
it  shows  that  the  drift  flint  hatchets  are  subsequent  to  the 
boulder  clay  ;  the  Bedford  valley  being  cut  through  hills 
capped  by  a  deposit  of  that  period. 


n--*^.^^u 


Fig.  242.— Section  of  Bank  of  Thames  near  Dartford,  where  fig.  241  was  found. 

Prestwich,  however,  tells  us  that  "  the  great  masses  of 
gravel  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Mildenhall  and  Lacken- 
heath,  also  containing  flint  implements,  .  .  .  seem  to  me 
to  be  part  of  the  phenomena  connected  with  the  passage 
of  the  great  Ice-sheet  over  the  Eastern  Counties,  and  on 
that  score  pre-glacial."  ^  Mr  Harrison  of  Ightham  in 
Kent  has  also  discovered  palaeolithic  implements  in  the 
high  level  plateau  gravels  near  Sevenoaks,  which  have  no 
reference  to  the  present  lines  of  river  drainage,  but  must 
have  been  deposited  by  water  running  several  hundred 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  present  rivers. 

The  number  of  localities  on  the  Continent  in  which 
stone  implements  have  been  obtained  from  beds  of  the 
quaternary  period  has  also  largely  increased. 

•  Fh'n^  Implements  in  the  Drift,  by  J.  Wyatt.     Bedfordshire   Archi- 
tectural and  Archaeological  Society,  1862. 
-  (2iiart.  Jour.  Gcol.  Soc,  1887,  p.  406. 


PALAEOLITHIC   IMPLEMENTS 


347 


Palaeolithic  implements  have  not  yet,  so  far  as  I  am 
aware,  been  found  in  Scandinavia,  or  in  England  north 
of  Saltley  in  Warwickshire  (where  a  specimen  was 
discovered  by  Mr  Landon)  and  Bridlington  in  Yorkshire. 
It  has  been  supposed,  and  seems  probable,  that  this  is  due 
to  the  glacial  condi- 
tions then  prevailing 
in  the  north  ;  but  it 
must  be  remembered 
that  flint  is  scarce  in 
the  north,  and  the  river 
gravels  have  not  been 
so  thoroughly  searched 
as  those  further  south. 

Stone  implements, 
more  or  less  resembling 
those  characteristic  of 
the  Palaeolithic  Age, 
have  also  been  found 
in  other  parts  of  the 
world,  as,  for  instance, 
in  Assyria,  Algeria,  and 
Hindostan.  I  myself 
found  some  in  the 
Egyptian  Desert  near 
Thebes  in  1872.  The 
Indian  specimens  were 
first  described  by  Mr 
Bruce  Foote  ^  :  they 
were  found  in  the 
Madras  and  North 
Arcot  districts,  and  are  of  quartzite,  and  in  several 
cases  were  found  by  Messrs  Foote  and  King  in  situ  at 
depths  of  from  three  to  ten  feet.  The  specimens  figured 
(figs.  238,  243)  will  show  how  closely  they  resemble  our 
European   specimens,  and   it  is  interesting   that,   in   the 

^  On  the  Occurrence  of  Sione  Implements  in  Lateritic  Formations  in 
Various  Paris  0/  the  Madras  and  North  Arcot  Districts,  by  R.  Bruce 
Foote. 


Fig.  243.— Stone  implement  from  Madras. 


348 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


words  of  Mr  Foote,  "  the  area,  over  which  the  lateritic 
formations  were  spread,  has  undergone,  as  already  stated, 

great  changes  since  their 
deposition.  A  great  part 
of  the  formation  has  been 
removed  by  denudation,  and 
deep  valleys  cut  into  them, 
now  occupied  by  the  allu- 
vium of  various  rivers."  ^ 
Unfortunately,  no  bones 
have  yet  been  found  in 
these  beds.  Worked  agates 
have  also  been  found  in 
the  deposits  of  the  Ner- 
budda,  and  in  the  bone- 
beds  of  the  upper  God- 
avery,  "  which  are,  there 
is  little  doubt,  the  same 
age  as  those  of  the  Ner- 
budda,  which  contain  Ele- 
phas  insigniSy  E.  Namadacus^ 
Hippopotamus  pal^indicus^ 
T>  1    1VU-  fl-  .  •     1       .    Bos     pal^indicus^     and     B. 

Fig.  244. — Palseolithic  Hint  implement.  '  ,  ' 

Namadicus. 
The   implements   found   in   the   river  gravel    may  be 
divided  into  several  categories  : — 

(i)  Hammers. 

(2)  Flakes.     Figs.    86-98.     These    have   been    de- 

scribed on  page  82.  They  commenced  at  the 
earliest  period  and  came  down  to  Roman 
times,  so  that  though  certain  proofs  of  inten- 
tion, they  do  not  characterize  any  particular 
period. 

(3)  Scrapers.     See  p.  94.     Almost  the  same  may  be 

said  of  these. 

(4)  Implements  worked  to  a  cutting  edge  at  one  side. 


•  Loc.  cit.,  p.  28. 

2  Blandford,  Geol.  Magazi7ie,  February  1866. 


VARIOUS   TYPES   OF   IMPLEMENTS     349 

(5)  Implements  which,  for  want  of  a  better  name,  we 

may  call  axes.  They  are  left  rough  at  one  end, 
and  are  worked  up  to  an  edge  at  the  other 
(fig.  245)  being  evidently  intended  to  be  held 
in  the  hand  :  or  (fig.  244)  they  may  be  slightly 
worked  at  the  butt  end,  so  as  to  aflFord  a  better 
grip. 

(6)  Similar     implements    (figs.    247—249),    worked 

down  at  the  butt  end,  evidently  in  order  that 
they  might  be  invested  in  a  handle.  The  free 
end  is  sometimes  broad  (figs.  244,  245),  some- 
times brought  to  a  point  (figs.  246,  249). 
Fig.  246  is  from  St  Acheul ;  fig.  249  repre- 
sents a  magnificent  specimen  from  the  valley 
of  the  Axe  kindly  presented  to  me  by  Mr  Rolls. 

(7)  Flat  ovoid  implements  (fig.  247),  worked  to  an 

edge  all  round. 

(8)  The    same    with    worked    twist    in    the    centre 

(fig.  248).  These  are  so  numerous,  and  the 
twist  is  so  marked,  that  it  cannot  be  accidental. 

(9)  Shaft-scrapers.     These  seem  to  have  been  used 

in  the  preparation  of  the  shafts  for  javelins. 

The  specimens  found  in  the  Somme  valley  are,  as  I 
shall  endeavour  to  show,  connected  with  the  present  river 
system,  and  the  same  was  the  case  with  those  first  dis- 
covered in  England.  Further  researches,  however,  have 
brought  to  light  cases  in  which  flint  implements  have 
been  found  in  beds  of  gravel  having  no  relation  to  the 
existing  river  systems.  Mr  Flower  has  called  attention 
to  several  of  these  in  our  eastern  counties,  and  I  have 
had  the  advantage  of  visiting  them  with  him.  The 
Shrub  Hill  gravel-bed,  for  instance,  is  a  low  mound  of 
gravel  of  about  fifteen  feet  thick,  rising  in  the  middle  of 
the  fen  near  Ely,  and  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  a  low 
flat  district.  Mr  Skertchly  also  has  found  flint  imple- 
ments in  beds  which  he  considers  to  be  pre-glacial,  but 
the  evidence  does  not  seem  to  be  quite  conclusive. 

Some  of  the  Hampshire  specimens  also  have  been 
found  in  situ^  in  a  mass  of  drift  gravel  which  covers  the 


35^ 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


tertiary  beds,  and  is  intersected  by  all  the  streams  which 
now  run  into  the  Southampton  Water.  This  bed  of 
gravel,  moreover,  is  not  confined  to  the  mainland,  but 
caps  also  the  Foreland  Cliffs  on  the  east  of  the  Isle  of 
Wight,  where  an  oval  flint  implement  has  recently  been 
discovered  by  Mr  T.  Codrington.  As  Sir  J.  Evans  has 
pointed  out,  we  seem  in  this  discovery  to  have  clear 
^    _  evidence  that  man  existed  in  this 

country  before  the  Southampton 
Water  was  formed,  or  the  Isle 
of  Wight  was  separated  from 
the  mainland,  and  we  may  there- 
fore regard  these  implements  as 
among  the  most  striking  proofs 
of  Man's  Antiquity,  which  they 
carry  back  to  a  period  far  more 
ancient  than  that  which  had  pre- 
viously been  assigned  to  him. 

So  great  is  the  antiquity  in- 
dicated by  these  stone  imple- 
ments, so  improbable  did  it 
seem  that  man  was  a  contem- 
porary of  the  mammoth,  the 
woolly  -  haired  rhinoceros,  etc., 
that  we  cannot  wonder  that  the 
statement  by  Mr  Frere  has  been 
distrusted  for  more  than  half  a 
century  ;  that  the  weapon  found 
by  Mr  Conyers  has  lain  unnoticed 
for  more  than  double  that  time  ;  that  the  discoveries  by 
M.  Boucher  de  Perthes  have  been  ignored  for  fifteen 
years  ;  that  the  numerous  cases  in  which  caves  have  con- 
tained the  remains  of  men  together  with  those  of  extinct 
animals  have  been  suppressed  or  explained  away :  these 
facts  show  how  deeply  rooted  was  the  conviction  that  man 
belonged  altogether  to  a  more  recent  order  of  things  ; 
and  whatever  other  accusation  may  be  brought  against 
them,  geologists  can  at  least  not  be  said  to  have  hastily 
accepted    the  theory  of  the  co-existence   of    the    human 


Fig,  245.— Paleolithic  flint 
implement. 


ANTIQUITY   OF   IMPLEMENTS 


35^ 


race    with   the    now    extinct   Pachydermata    of    Western 
Europe. 

Although,  however,  geologists  are  now  almost  unani- 
mous as  to  the  great  antiquity  of  these  curious  weapons, 
still  it  is  not  necessary  that 
they  should  be  received  as 
judges  ;  I  only  propose  to 
summon  them  as  witnesses. 

The  questions  to  be  decided 
may  be  stated  as  follows  : — 

I  St.  Are  the  so-called  flint 
implements  of  human  work- 
manship .'' 

2ndly.  Are  the  flint  imple- 
ments of  the  same  age  as  the 
beds  in  which  they  are  found, 
and  the  bones  of  the  extinct 
animals  with  which  they  occur  ^ 

3rdly.  What  are  the  condi- 
tions under  which  these  beds 
were  deposited  ?  And  how 
far  are  we  justified  in  imput- 
ing to  them  a  great  antiquity  ? 

To  the  first  two  of  these 
questions  an  affirmative  answer 
would  be  given  by  every  geolo- 
gist. "  For  more  than  twenty 
years,"  says  Prof.  Ramsay, 
"  I  have  daily  handled  stones, 
whether  fashioned  by  nature 
or  art,  and  the  flint  hatchets 
of  Amiens  and  Abbeville  seem  to  me  as  clearly  works 
of  art  as  any  Sheffield  whittle."  ^  But  best  of  all,  an 
hour  or  two  spent  in  examining  the  forms  of  ordinary 
flint  gravel,  would,  I  am  sure,  convince  any  man  that 
these  stones,  rude  though  they  be,  were  undeniably 
fashioned  by  the  hand  of  man. 

The  stone  implements    of    some    modern  savages  are 

'  Alhencetiin,  July  i6,  1859. 


Fig.  246. — Palseolithic  implement. 
One-half  actual  size. 


352 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


quite  as  rude,  and  some  even  ruder,  as,  for  instance,  those 
of  the  Tasmanians,  which  were  only  flaked  on  one  side 
and  were  held  in  the  hand,  not  fixed  into  any  handle.-^ 

Still  it  might  be  supposed  that  they  were  forgeries 
made  by  ingenious  workmen  to  entrap  unwary  geologists. 
They  have,  however,  been  actually  found  by  Messrs 
Boucher  de  Perthes,  Henslow,  Christy,  Flower,  Wyatt, 
Evans,  myself,  and  others  (I  might  now  say  many  others). 


Figs.  247,  248. — Palseolithic  implements.     One-half  actual  size. 

under  circumstances  which  preclude  all  idea  of  deception. 
One  seen,  though  not  found,  by  himself  in  situ^  is  thus 
described  by  Sir  J.  Prestwich  :  "  It  was  lying  flat  in  the 
gravel  at  a  depth  of  seventeen  feet  from  the  original 
surface  and  six  and  a  half  feet  from  the  chalk.  One  side 
slightly  projected.  The  gravel  around  was  undisturbed, 
and  presented  its  usual  perpendicular  face.  I  carefully 
examined  the  specimen,  and  saw  no  reason  to  doubt  that 
it  was  in  its  natural  position,  for  the  gravel  is  generally 
so  loose,  that  a  blow  with  a  pick  disturbs  and  brings  it 

^  H.  Ling  Roth,  The  Tasmanians,  pp.  1 56-8. 


EVIDENCE    FROM    FLINTS 


353 


down  for  some  way  round  ;  and  the  matrix  is  too  little 
adhesive  to  admit  of  its  being  built  up  again  as  before 
with  the  same  materials.  ...  I  found  also  afterwards,  on 
taking  out  the  flint, 
that  it  was  the 
thinnest  side  which 
projected,  the  other 
side  being  less  fin- 
ished and  much 
thicker."^  But 
evidence  of  this 
nature,  though  in- 
teresting, is  un- 
necessary ;  the  flints 
speak  for  themselves. 
Many  of  them  are 
more  or  less  rolled 
or  worn  at  the 
edges.  Those 
which  have  lain  in 
siliceous  or  chalky 
sands  are  more  or 
less  polished,  and 
have  a  beautiful 
glossiness  of  sur- 
face, very  unlike 
that  of  a  newly 
broken  flint.  In 
ochreous  sand, 
especially  if  argil- 
laceous, they  are 
stained  yellow, 
whilst  in  ferru- 
ginous sands  and 
clays  they  assume 
a  brown  colour,  and  in  some  beds  they  become  white 
and  porcellaneous.  In  many  cases,  moreover,  they  have 
encrustations   of  carbonate   of  lime   and   small  dendritic 

'  Phil.  Trans. ^  i860,  p.  292. 

23 


Fig.  249. — Another  specimen.     One-half  actual  size. 


354  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

markings.  The  freshly-broken  chalk  flints,  on  the  con- 
trary, are  of  a  dull  black  or  leaden  colour  ;  they  vary  a 
little  in  darkness  but  not  in  colour,  and  do  not  present 
white  or  yellow  facings  ;  moreover,  the  new  surfaces  are 
dead,  and  want  the  glossiness  of  those  which  have  been 
exposed.  It  is  almost  unnecessary  to  say  that  they 
have  no  dendritic  markings,  nor  are  they  encrusted  by 
carbonate  of  lime. 

Now  the  forgeries — for  there  are  forgeries- — differ  from 
the  genuine  implements  by  just  those  characteristics  which 
distinguish  newly-broken  flints  from  those  which  have 
lain  long  in  sand  or  gravel,  or  exposed  to  atmospheric 
agencies.  They  are  black,  never  white  or  yellow  ;  their 
surfaces  are  not  glossy,  but  dull  and  lustreless,  and  they 
have  no  dendritic  markings  or  encrustations.  Nor  would 
it  be  possible  for  an  ingenious  rogue  to  deceive  us  by 
taking  a  stained  flint  and  fashioning  it  into  a  hatchet, 
because  the  discoloration  of  the  flint  is  quite  super- 
ficial, seldom  more  than  a  quarter  of  an  inch  in  thick- 
ness, and  follows  the  outline  of  the  present  surface, 
showing  that  the  change  of  colour  was  subsequent  to 
the  manufacture  ;  while  if  such  a  flint  were  tampered 
with,  the  fraud  would  be  easily  detected,  as  each  blow 
would  remove  part  of  the  outer  coating,  and  expose  the 
black  flint  inside  (p.  83). 

Moreover,  it  must  be  remembered,  that  when  M. 
Boucher  de  Perthes'  work  was  published,  the  weapons 
therein  described  were  totally  unlike  any  of  those  familiar 
to  archaeologists.  Since  that  time,  however,  not  only 
have  similar  implements  been  found  in  England,  France, 
and  other  countries,  but,  as  already  mentioned,  it  has 
since  come  to  light  that  similar  weapons  were  in  two 
cases  actually  described  and  figured  in  England  many 
years  ago,  and  that  in  both  these  instances  they  were 
found  in  association  with  the  bones  of  extinct  animals. 
On  this  point,  therefore,  no  evidence  could  be  more 
conclusive. 

We  may,  then,  pass  on  to  the  second  subject,  and  con- 
sider whether  the  flint  implements  are  as  old  as  the  beds 


ANTIQUITY   OF   IMPLEMENTS         355 

in    which    they    occur,    and    as    the    remains    of    extinct 
mammalia  with  which  they  are  associated. 

It  has  been  suggested  by  some  writers,  that  though 
they  are  really  found  in  the  mammaliferous  gravel,  they 
may  be  comparatively  recent,  and  belong  really  to  the 
Neolithic  or  later  Stone  Age,  but  have  gradually  sunk 
down  from  above  by  their  own  weight,  or  perhaps  have 
been  buried  in  artificial  excavations.  There  are,  however, 
no  cracks  or  fissures  by  which  the  hatchets  could  have 
reached  their  present  positions,  and  the  strata  are  too 
compact  and  immovable  to  admit  of  any  such  insinuation 
from  the  surface.  Nor  could  any  ancient  excavations 
have  been  made  and  filled  in  again  without  leaving  evident 
traces  of  the  change.  Moreover,  we  may  in  this  case  also 
appeal  to  the  flint  implements  themselves,  which,  as  we 
have  already  seen,  agree  in  colour  and  appearance  with 
the  gravel  in  which  they  occur  ;  it  is,  therefore,  only 
reasonable  to  infer  that  they  have  been  subjected  to 
the  same  influences.  Moreover,  if  they  belonged  to  the 
later  Stone  Period,  and  had  found  their  way  by  any 
accident  into  these  gravels,  then  they  ought  to  correspond 
with  the  other  flint  implements  of  the  Stone  Period. 
But  this  is  not  the  case.  The  flakes,  indeed,  off'er  no 
peculiarities  of  form.  Similar  splinters  of  flint,  or 
obsidian,  have  been  used  in  the  absence  of  metal  by  savage 
tribes  in  almost  all  ages  and  all  countries.  In  the  south- 
east of  England  the  other  implements,  on  the  contrary, 
are  very  characteristic.  They  are  almost  always  made  of 
flint,  whereas  many  other  minerals,  such,  for  instance,  as 
serpentine,  jade,  clayslate,  etc.,  were  used  in  the  later 
Stone  Age.  Their  forms  are  also  peculiar.  They  present 
many  differences,  but  may  be  classed,  as  already  mentioned, 
under  a  few  types.  Those  with  a  heavy  butt  at  one  end, 
and  a  point  at  the  other,  are  regarded  by  Sir  John  Evans  ^ 
as  having  served  as  spear  or  lance  heads.  He  treats  as  a 
mere  variety  of  this  type  those  implements  in  which  the 
cutting  end  is  rounded  off  but  not  pointed.  Some  of 
these,  however,  were  evidently  intended  to  be  held  in  the 
^  Loc.  cit.,  i860,  p.  II. 


356  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

hand,  and  probably  served  a  different  purpose  ;  they  may, 
I  think,  fairly  be  considered  as  a  fourth  type,  though  it 
must  be  confessed  that  all  these  types  run  into  one 
another,  and  in  any  large  collection  many  intermediate 
forms  may  be  found.  The  smaller  end  is,  in  all  cases, 
the  one  adapted  for  cutting,  while  the  reverse  is  almost 
invariably  the  case  in  the  oval  celts  of  the  Neolithic  Stone 
Age  (figs.  1 06  and  107). 

Again,  the  flint  implements  of  the  drift  are  never 
polished  or  ground,  but  are  always  left  rough.  Many 
thousands  have  now  been  found  in  the  drift  gravels  of 
England  and  France,  and  of  this  large  number  there  is 
not  one  which  shows  a  trace  of  polishing  or  grinding  ; 
while  we  know  that  the  reverse  was  almost  always  the 
case  with  the  celts  of  the  later  Stone  Period.  It  is  true 
that  the  latter  is  not  an  invariable  rule  ;  thus,  in  Denmark 
there  are  two  forms  of  so-called  "axes"  which  are  left 
rough — namely,  the  small  triangular  axes  of  the  Kjokken- 
moddings  (figs.  1 17-1 19)  which  are  invariably  so,  and  the 
large  square-sided  axes  with  which  this  is  often  the  case. 
But,  though  rough,  these  two  forms  of  implements  resemble 
in  no  other  way  those  which  are  found  in  the  drift,  and 
could  not  for  a  moment  be  mistaken  for  them.  It  is  not 
going  too  far  to  say  that  there  is  not  a  single  well-authen- 
ticated instance  of  a  "  celt  "  being  found  in  the  drift,  or  of 
an  implement  of  the  drift  type  being  discovered  either  in  a 
tumulus  or  associated  with  remains  of  the  later  Stone  Age. 

It  is  useless  to  speculate  upon  the  use  made  of  these 
rude  yet  venerable  weapons.  Almost  as  well  might  we 
ask,  to  what  use  could  they  not  be  applied  1  Numerous 
and  specialized  as  are  our  modern  instruments,  who  could 
describe  the  exact  use  of  a  knife  .''  But  the  primitive 
savage  had  no  such  choice  of  weapons  ;  we  see  before 
us  perhaps  the  whole  contents  of  his  workshop  ;  and 
with  these  implements,  rude  as  they  seem  to  us,  he  cut 
down  trees,  scooped  them  out  into  canoes,  grubbed  up 
roots,  attacked  his  enemies,^  killed  and  cut  up  his  food, 

1  Some  savages  even  now  fight  with  stones,  which  they  simply  hold  in 
their  hands. 


SCARCITY   OF   HUMAN   BONES         357 

made    holes   through    the    ice    in    winter,   prepared   fire- 
wood, etc. 

The  almost  entire  absence  of  human  bones,  which  has 
appeared  to  some  so  inexplicable  as  to  throw  a  doubt  on 
the  whole  question,  is,  on  consideration,  less  extraordinary 
than  it  might  at  first  sight  appear  to  be.  If,  for  instance, 
we  turn  to  other  remains  of  human  settlements,  we  shall 
find  a  repetition  of  the  same  phenomenon.  Thus  in  the 
Danish  shell-mounds  where  worked  flints  are  by  far  more 
plentiful  than  in  the  St  Acheul  gravel,  human  bones  are 
of  the  greatest  rarity,  only  one  piece  in  fact  having  ever 
been  found.  At  that  period,  as  in  the  Drift  Age,  man- 
kind lived  by  hunting  and  fishing,  and  could  not,  there- 
fore, be  very  numerous.  In  the  era,  however,  of  the 
Swiss  lake  -  habitations,  the  case  was  different.  M. 
Troyon  estimates  the  population  of  the  "  Pfahlbauten  " 
during  the  Stone  Age  at  about  32,000  ;  in  the  Bronze 
Era,  42,000.  On  these  calculations,  indeed,  even  their 
ingenious  author  would  not  probably  place  much  reliance  ; 
still  the  number  of  the  lake-villages  already  known  is 
very  considerable  ;  in  four  of  the  Swiss  lakes  only,  more 
than  seventy  have  been  discovered,  and  some  of  them 
were  of  great  extent  :  Wangen,  for  instance,  being, 
according  to  M.  Lohle,  supported  on  more  than  50,000 
piles.  Yet,  if  we  exclude  a  few  bones  of  children,  human 
remains  have  been  obtained  from  these  settlements  in  six 
cases  only.  The  number  of  flint  implements  obtained 
hitherto  from  the  drift  of  the  Somme  valley  probably 
does  not  much  exceed  5000  ^  ;  the  settlement  at  Concise 
alone  (Lake  of  Neufchatel)  has  supplied  about  24,000, 
and  yet  has  not  produced  a  single  human  skeleton.^ 
Probably  this  absence  of  bones  is  in  part  attributable  to 
the  habit  of  burying  or  burning  ;  the  instinct  of  man  has 
long  been  in  most  cases  to  bury  his  dead  out  of  sight. 
Still,  so  far  as  the  drift  of  St  Acheul  is  concerned,  the 

'  One  of  the  tumuli  in  the  Mississippi  vnllcy  is  estimated  to  have  alone 
contained  nearly  four  tliousand  stone  implements.  This,  however,  is  a 
very  exceptional  rase. 

^  Rapport  a  la  Comtnission  des  MusJes,  October,  iS6i,  p.  i6. 


358  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

difficulty  will  altogether  disappear,  if  we  remember  that 
no  trace  has  ever  yet  been  found  of  any  animal  as  small  as  a 
man.  Even  of  the  elephant  and  rhinoceros,  the  ox,  horse, 
and  stag,^  only  the  larger  and  more  solid  bones  remain  ; 
every  vestige  of  the  smaller  ones  has  perished.  No  one 
supposes  that  this  scanty  list  fairly  represents  the  mam- 
malian fauna  of  this  time  and  place.  When  we  find  at 
St  Acheul  the  remains  of  the  wolf,  boar,  roedeer,  badger, 
and  other  animals  which  existed  during  the  Drift  Period, 
then,  and  not  till  then,  we  may  perhaps  begin  to  wonder 
at  the  entire  absence  of  human  skeletons. 

We  must  also  remember  that  when  man  lived  on  the 
produce  of  the  chase,  there  must  have  been  a  very  large 
number  of  wild  animals  to  each  hunter.  Among  the 
Laplanders,  loo  reindeer  is  the  smallest  number  on  which 
a  man  can  subsist,  and  no  one  is  considered  rich  who  does 
not  possess  at  least  from  300  to  500.  But  these  are 
domesticated,  and  a  large  supply  of  nourishment  is 
derived  from  their  milk.  In  the  case  of  wild  animals, 
we  may  safely  assume  that  a  much  larger  number  would 
be  necessary.  The  Hudson's  Bay  territory  is  said  to 
comprise  about  900,000,000  acres.  The  number  of 
Indians  was  estimated  at  139,000.  Allowing  one  wild 
animal  to  each  twenty  acres,  this  would  give  about  300 
animals  to  each  Indian  ;  and,  if  we  consider  the  greater 
longevity  of  man,  we  must  multiply  this  by  six,  or 
even  more. 

Or,  again,  we  may  attempt  to  form  an  estimate  in  the 
following  manner.     The  number  of  skins  received  by  the 

^  The  bones  of  the  stag  owe  their  preservation  perhaps  to  another  cause. 
Professor  Riitimeyer  tells  us  that  among  the  bones  from  the  Pfahlbauten 
none  are  in  better  condition  than  those  of  the  stag  :  this  is  the  consequence, 
he  says,  of  their  "dichten  Gefiige,  ihrer  Hiirte  und  Sprtidigkeit,  so  wie  der 
grossen  Fettlosigkeit,"  peculiarities  which  recommended  them  so  strongly 
to  the  men  of  the  Stone  Age,  that  they  used  them  in  preference  to  all 
others,  nay,  almost  exclusively,  in  the  manufacture  of  those  instruments 
which  could  be  made  of  bone  {Fautia  der  Pfahlbaute?i,  p.  12).  How 
common  the  bones  of  the  stag  are  in  quaternary  strata  geologists  know, 
and  we  have  here  perhaps  an  explanation  of  the  fact.  The  antler  of  the 
reindeer  is  also  preferred  at  the  present  day  by  the  Esquimaux  in  the 
manufacture  of  their  stone  weapons.  (Sir  E.  Belcher,  Trans.  Ethti.  Soc.^ 
vol.  1.  p.  139.) 


PROPORTION   OF   MAN   TO   ANIMALS 


359 


Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  1866  amounted  to  1,250,000, 


IS  lollows  : — 
Beaver 

I44>744 

Fox 

32,982 

Lynx 

68,040 

Marten     . 

92,373 

Mink 

73,149 

Musquash 

608,396 

Otter 

14,376 

Rabbit      . 

105,909 

Bear 

6,457 

Racoon 

24,860 

Wolf 

7,429 

Sundries  . 

63,950 

1,242,765 

The  number  of  Indians  is  estimated  at 
139,000,  and  Hearne  states  that  every  one 
requires  at  least  twenty  deerskins  for 
clothes,  without  counting  those  required 
for  tent-cloths,  bags,  etc.  ;  this  therefore 
would  give  us  139,000x20      .  .  .     2,780,000 

But  the  deerskins  are  fit  for  clothes  only 
during  two  months  in  the  year,  and  as  it  will 
be  observed  that  the  majority  of  the  animals 
enumerated  above  are  not  fit  for  food, 
others  must  have  been  killed  in  sufficient 
quantities  to  serve  as  food  for  ten  months. 
Assuming  that  an  Indian  requires  one  every 
month,  which  is  probably  well  within  the 
mark,  we  shall  again  require  139,000  x  10 
(the  number  of  months), .  .  .  ,      1,390,000 

Making,  therefore,  a  total  of      .  .      5,412,765 

And  even  if  we  assume  that  one  animal  only  out  of 
twenty  is  killed  by  the  Indians,  which  is  probably  much 
too  large  a  proportion,  we  shall  have  108,000,000  to 
139,000  Indians,  or  about  750  animals  to  each  man  ; 
besides  which,  a  further  allowance  must  be  made  as  before 


36o  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

on  account  of  man's  greater  longevity.  Dr  Rae,  who  has 
had  so  much  experience  in  these  matters,  has  been  good 
enough  to  look  over  the  above  calculation,  which  he 
considers  fairly  estimated,  but  it  has,  of  course,  no  pre- 
tensions to  accuracy. 

Lastly,  it  may  be  observed  that  man  is  less  likely  to  be 
drowned  by  sudden  river  floods,  than  is  the  case  with 
other  land  mammalia  ;  ^  and  on  the  whole,  therefore,  it 
is  natural  that  the  bones  of  animals  would  be  far  more 
common  in  these  gravels  than  those  of  man. 

It  must  not,  however,  be  supposed  that  the  latter  are 
altogether  absent.  Without  relying  on  the  human  lower 
jaw,  stated  to  have  been  found  in  the  pit  at  Moulinquignon, 
and  about  which  there  has  been  much  discussion  and 
difference  of  opinion,  I  may  instance  the  discovery  of 
human  remains  by  M.  Bertrand,^  at  Clichy,  in  the  valley 
of  the  Seine.  Among  these  bones,  about  the  authenticity 
and  antiquity  of  which  there  seems  to  be  no  doubt,  was 
a  skull  which  has  been  examined  by  M.  Lartet,  and  which 
is  decidedly  dolichocephalic. 

We  have  as  yet  but  partly  answered  the  second  of  the 
two  questions  with  which  we  started.  Even  admitting 
that  the  flint  hatchets  are  coeval  with  the  gravel  in  which 
they  occur,  it  remains  to  be  shown  that  the  bones  of  the 
extinct  animals  belong  also  to  the  same  period.  This  was 
at  first  doubted  by  some  geologists,  who  suggested  that 
they  might  have  been  washed  out  of  earlier  strata. 

If,  however,  these  bones  belonged  to  a  period  earlier 
than  that  of  the  gravel,  where,  we  may  ask,  are  the  remains 
of  the  animals  which  did  exist  at  that  time  ?  Moreover, 
the  bones,  though  sometimes  much  worn  and  broken,  are 
at  others,  and  even,  according  to  Sir  J.  Prestwich,  "  as  a 
general  rule,"  either  not  rolled  at  all,  or  are  slightly  so." 
Secondly,  these  species,  and  particularly  the  mammoth 
and  the  woolly-haired  rhinoceros,  are  the  characteristic  and 
commonest  species  of  these  beds,  not  only  in  the  valley  of 
the  Somme,  but  in  all  the  drift  gravels  of  England  and 

'  See,  for  instances,  Bakie,  Ex/>/or/ni^  Voyai;;e  up  the  Kwora,  p.  315. 
2  Les  Motides,  1869,  p.  64.  ^  Phil.  Trans..,  he.  cit.,  p.  300. 


COEXISTENCE  OF  MAN  WITH  ANIMALS  361 

France  ;  while,  if  they  belonged  in  reality  to  an  earlier 
period,  they  would  not  occur  so  constantly,  and  they 
would  be  accompanied  by  other  species  characteristic  of 
earlier  times. 

Thirdly,  the  materials  forming  the  drift  gravels  of  the 
Somme  valley  have  all  been  obtained  from  the  present 
area  of  drainage,  and  there  are  in  this  district  no  older 
beds  from  which  the  remains  of  these  extinct  mammalia 
could  possibly  have  been  derived.  There  are,  indeed, 
outliers  of  tertiary  strata,  but  the  mammalian  remains 
found  in  those  beds  belong  to  other,  and  much  more 
ancient,  species. 

Fourthly,  as  regards  the  rhinoceros,  we  have  the  ex- 
press testimony  of  M.  Baillon,  that  on  one  occasion  all 
the  bones  of  a  hind-leg  were  found  in  their  natural 
positions  at  Menchecourt,  near  Abbeville,  while  the  rest 
of  the  skeleton  was  found  at  a  little  distance.  In  this 
case,  therefore,  the  animal  most  have  been  entombed 
before  the  ligaments  had  decayed  away. 

M.  Casciano  de  Prado  has  made  a  very  similar  discovery 
in  Spain,  not  far  from  Madrid.  There  the  section  was 
as  follows  :  first,  vegetable  soil  ;  then  about  twenty-five 
feet  of  sand  and  pebbles,  under  which  was  a  layer  of 
sandy  loam,  in  which,  during  the  year  1850,  a  complete 
skeleton  of  the  mammoth  was  discovered.  Underneath 
this  stratum  was  about  ten  feet  of  coarse  gravel,  in  which 
some  flint  axes,  very  closely  resembling  those  of  Amiens, 
have  been  discovered. 

Finally,  as  regards  the  rhinoceros,  M.  Lartet  assures 
us^  that  some  of  the  bones  bear  the  marks  of  flint  imple- 
ments ;  nay,  more  than  this,  he  has  even  satisfied  himself, 
"  by  comparative  trials  on  homologous  portions  of  existing 
animals,  that  incisions,  presenting  such  appearances, 
could  only  be  made  in  fresh  bones,  still  retaining  their 
cartilage." 

There  is,  then,  no  more  reason  for  believing  that  the 
bones  of  these  extinct  mammalia  were  washed  out  of 
earlier  strata  into  the  drift  gravels,  than  for  attributing 
'  Geological  Jottrn.^  vol.  xvi.  p.  471. 


362 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


such  an  origin  to  the   implements   themselves  ;   and  we 

may,    I    think,    regard    it    as    well 

2=                          I  established,  that  the  mammoth  and 

^                               i  woolly-haired  rhinoceros,  as  well  as 

1  the  other  above-mentioned  mam- 
3  malia,  co-existed  with  the  savages 
3  who  used  the  rude  "  drift  hatchets," 
^  at  the  time  when  the  gravels  of  the 
c  Somme  were  being  deposited. 
g  The  second  of  the  three  ques- 
Z  tions  with  which  we  started  (p.  35 1) 
5  may  therefore  be  answered  in  the 
g  affirmative. 
%  Must  we,  then,  carry  man  back 

2  far  into  the  past,  or  may  we  bring 
u  the  extinct  animals  down  to  com- 
"  paratively  recent  times  ?  The  ab- 
^"  sence  of  all  tradition  of  the  elephant 
t>  and  rhinoceros  in  Europe  carries 
^  us  back  far  indeed  in  years,  but  a 
rt  little  way  only,  when  measured  by 
s  geological  standards,  and  we  must 
o  therefore  solve  this  question  by 
S  examining  the  drift  gravels  them- 
S  selves,  the  materials  of  which  they 
I"  are  composed,  and  the  positions 
>  which  they  so  occupy,  as  to  deter- 
5  mine,  if  possible,  the  conditions 
%  under  which  they  were  deposited, 
i  and  the  lapse  of  time  which  they 
0  indicate. 

u  Fig.   250  gives  a  section   across 

I,  the  valley  of  the  Somme  at  Abbe- 

^  ville,  taken  from  the  memoir  in  the 

'^                       H    -  Philosophical  Transactions^^  by  Sir  J. 

^  Prestwich,    who    has    long   studied 

the  quaternary  beds,  and  has  done   more  than  any  other 

man  to  render  them  intelligible.     We  should  find  almost 

^  Phil.  Trans.^  i860. 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  DRIFT  BEDS  363 

the  same  arrangement  and  position  of  the  different  beds 
not  only  at  St  Acheul,  but  elsewhere  along  the  valley  of 
the  Somme,  wherever  the  higher  beds  of  gravel  have  not 
been  removed  by  subsequent  action  of  the  river.  Even 
at  St  Valery,  at  the  present  mouth  of  the  river,  I  found 
a  bed  of  gravel  at  a  considerable  height  above  the  level 
of  the  sea.  This  would  seem  to  show  that  at  the  period 
of  these  high-level  gravels,  the  English  Channel  was 
narrower  than  it  is  at  present,  as  indeed  we  know  to  have 
been  the  case  down  to  historical  times.  So  early  as  1605, 
our  countryman,  Verstegan,  pointed  out  that  the  waves 
and  tides  were  eating  away  our  coasts.  Sir  C.  Lyell  ^ 
gives  much  information  on  this  subject,  and  it  appears, 
for  instance,  that,  even  so  lately  as  the  reign  of  Queen 
Elizabeth,  the  town  of  Brighton  occupied  the  site  of  the 
present  pier. 

The  difference  between  the  height  of  the  high-level 
gravels  and  the  river  increases  from  the  source  to  the  sea. 
For  instance,  in  the  Seine  valley  at  the  boundaries  of 
La  Brie  and  Champagne  it  is  nothing  ;  at  Paris,  34 
metres  ;  at  the  sea,  50  or  60.^ 

Sir  J.  Prestwich  has  pointed  out^  that  a  section,  similar 
to  that  of  the  Somme,  is  presented  by  various  rivers — the 
Lark,  Waveney,  Ouse,  etc.,  while  it  is  well  shown  also 
along  the  banks  of  the  Seine.  Indeed  it  holds  good  of 
most  of  our  rivers,  that  along  the  sides  of  their  valleys 
are  patches  of  old  gravels  left  by  the  stream  at  various 
heights,  before  they  had  excavated  the  channels  to  their 
present  depth.  Sir  J.  Prestwich  considers  that  the  beds 
of  sand  and  gravel  can  generally  be  divided  into  two  more 
or  less  distinct  series,  one  continuous  along  the  bottom 
of  the  valleys,  and  rising  little  above  the  water  level — 
these  he  calls  the  low-level  gravels  ;  the  other,  which  he 
terms  the  upper  or  high-level  gravels,  occurring  in 
detached  masses  at  an  elevation  of  from  fifty  to  two 
hundred  feet  above  the  valley.  Those  of  the  Somme 
seem  to  me,  on  the  contrary,  only  the  two  extremes  of  a 

'   See  Principles  of  Geoloi^y^  p.  315. 

2  Belgrand,  Bassin  Parisien,  p.  90.  ^  Phil.  Trims..,  1864. 


364  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

single  series,  once  continuous,  but  now  generally  present- 
ing numerous  interruptions.  A  more  magnified  view  of 
the  strata  at  St  Acheul,  near  Amiens,  is  shown  in 
fig.  251.  The  upper  layer  of  vegetable  soil  having  been 
removed,  we  have — 

(i)  A  bed  of  brick  earth  (^),  from  4  to  5  feet  in  thick- 
ness, and  containing  a  few  angular  flints. 

(2)  Below  this  is  a  thin  layer  of  angular  gravel  ((^),  i  to 
2  feet  in  thickness. 

(3)  Still  lower  is  a  bed  of  sandy  marl  [c),  5  to  6  feet 
thick,  with  land  and  freshwater  shells,  which,  though 
very  delicate,  are  in  most  cases  perfect. 


Fig.  251. — Section  of  St  Acheul,  near  Amiens. 

(4)  At  the  bottom  of  all  these,  and  immediately  over- 
lying the  chalk,  is  the  bed  of  partially  rounded  gravel  (<^) 
in  which  principally  the  flint  implements  are  found. 
This  layer  also  contains  many  well-rolled  tertiary 
pebbles. 

In  the  early  Christian  period  this  spot  was  used  as  a 
cemetery  :  the  graves  generally  descend  into  the  marly 
sand,  and  their  limits  are  very  distinctly  marked,  as  in 
fig.  251  ;  an  important  fact,  as  showing  that  the  rest  of 
the  strata  have  lain  undisturbed  for  fifteen  hundred  years. 
Some  of  the  coffins  were  of  hard  chalk  (fig.  251,  ^),  some 
of  wood,  in  which  latter  case  the  nails  and  clamps  only 
remain,  every  particle  of  wood  having  perished,  without 
leaving  even  a  stain  behind.  Passing  down  the  hill 
towards  the  river,  all  these  strata  are  seen  to  die  out,  and 
we  find  ourselves  on  the  bare  chalk  ;  but  again  at  a  lower 


ST   ACHEUL  365 

level  occurs  another  bed  of  gravel,  resembling  the  first, 
and  capped  also  by  the  bed  of  brick  earth  which  is  known 
as  loess.  This  lower  bed  of  gravel  is  known  as  the 
lower-level  gravel,  a  somewhat  misleading  term,  as  it  is 
of  course  more  recent. 

These  strata,  therefore,  are  our  witnesses  ;  but  of 
what  ?  Are  they  older  than  the  valley,  or  the  valley  than 
they  ?  Are  they  the  result  of  causes  still  in  operation,  or 
the  offspring  of  cataclysms  now  happily  at  an  end  .'' 

If  we  can  show  that  the  present  river,  somewhat  swollen 
perhaps,  owing  to  the  greater  extension  of  forests  in 
ancient  times,  and  by  an  alteration  of  climate,  has  ex- 
cavated the  present  valley,  and  produced  the  strata  above 
numerated  ;  then  "  the  suggestion  of  an  antiquity  for  the 
human  family  so  remote  as  is  here  implied,  in  the  length 
of  ages  required  by  the  gentle  rivers  and  small  streams  of 
eastern  France  to  erode  its  whole  plain  to  the  depths  at 
which  they  now  flow,  acquires,  it  must  be  confessed,  a 
fascinating  grandeur,  when  by  similitude  of  feature  and 
geology,  we  extend  the  hypothesis  to  the  whole  north- 
west frontiers  of  the  continent,  and  assume  that,  from 
the  estuary  of  the  Seine  to  the  eastern  shores  of  the 
Baltic,  every  internal  feature  of  valley,  dale,  and  ravine — 
in  short,  the  entire  intaglio  of  the  surface — has  been 
moulded  by  running  waters,  since  the  advent  of  the 
human   race."^ 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  it  has  been  maintained  that  the 
pliant  facts  may  be  read  as  "  expressions  of  violent  and 
sudden  mutations,  only  compatible  with  altogether  briefer 
periods."  The  argument  of  the  Paroxysmist  would 
probably  be  something  like  the  following  : — 

"  Assuming  the  pre-existing  re/iefl  or  excavation  rather, 
of  the  surface  to  have  approximated  to  that  now  prevail- 
ing, he  will  account  for  the  gravel  by  supposing  a  sudden 
rocking  movement  of  the  lands  and  the  bottom  of  the  sea 
of  the  nature  of  an  earthquake,  or  a  succession  of  them, 
to  have  launched  a  portion  of  the  temporarily  uplifted 
waters  upon  the  surface  of  the  land." 

1  Blackivood's  Magaz:ine,  October,  i860. 


366  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

Let  us,  then,  examine  the  strata,  and  see  whether  the 
evidence  they  give  is  in  reality  so  confused  and  contra- 
dictory. 

Taking  the  section  at  St  Acheul  and  commencing  at 
the  bottom,  we  have  first  of  all  the  partially  rounded 
high-level  gravel,  throughout  which,  and  especially  at  the 
lower  part,  the  flint  implements  occur. 

These  beds  but  rarely  contain  vegetable  remains. 
Large  pieces  of  the  oak,  yew,  and  fir  have,  however,  been 
determined  at  Hoxne.  The  mammalia,  also,  are  but  few  ; 
the  mammoth,  the  Elephas  antiquus^  with  species  of  Bos^ 
Cervus^  and  Equus^  are  the  only  ones  which  have  yet 
occurred  at  St  Acheul,  though  beds  of  the  same  age  in 
other  parts  of  England  and  France  have  added  the 
Rhinoceros  tichorhinuSy  the  reindeer,  and  several  other 
species.  The  moUusca  are  more  numerous  ;  they  have 
been  identified  by  Mr  J.  G.  Jeffreys,  who  finds  in  the 
upper-level  gravel  thirty-six  species,  all  of  them  land  or 
freshwater  forms,  and  all  belonging  to  existing  species. 
It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add  that  these  shells  are  not 
found  in  the  coarse  gravel,  but  only  here  and  there, 
where  quieter  conditions,  indicated  by  a  seam  of  finer 
materials,  have  preserved  them  from  destruction.  Here, 
therefore,  we  have  a  conclusive  answer  to  the  suggestion 
that  the  gravel  may  have  been  heaped  up  to  its  present 
height  by  a  sudden  irruption  of  the  sea.  In  that  case  we 
should  find  some  marine  remains  ;  but  as  we  do  not,  as 
all  the  fossils  belong  to  animals  which  live  on  the  land, 
or  inhabit  fresh  waters,  it  is  at  once  evident  that  this 
stratum,  not  being  sub-aerial,  must  be  a  freshwater 
deposit  ;  and  as  the  most  delicate  shells  are  entire,  it  is 
equally  evident  that  they  were  deposited  in  tranquil  water, 
and  not  by  a  cataclysm. 

But  the  gravel  itself  tells  us  even  more  than  this  :  the 
river  Somme  flows  through  a  country  in  which  there  are 
no  rocks  older  than  the  chalk,  and  the  gravel  in  its  valley 
consists  entirely  of  chalk  flints  and  tertiary  debris.^  The 
Seine,  on  the  other  hand,  receives  tributaries  which  drain 

'  Buteux,  loc.  cit.,  p.  98. 


ORGANIC   REMAINS  367 

other  formations.  In  the  valley  of  the  Yonne  we  find 
fragments  of  the  crystalline  rocks  brought  from  the 
Morvan.^  The  Aube  runs  through  cretaceous  and 
Jurassic  strata,  and  the  gravels  along  its  valley  are  entirely 
composed  of  materials  derived  from  these  formations. 
The  valley  of  the  Oise  is  in  this  respect  particularly 
instructive  :  "  De  Maquenoise  a  Hirson  ^  la  vallee  ne 
presente  que  des  fragments  plus  ou  moins  roules  des 
roches  de  transition  que  traverse  le  cours  de  la  riviere. 
En  descendant  a  Etreaupont,  on  y  trouve  des  calcaires 
jurassiques  et  des  silex  de  la  craie,  formations  qui  ont 
succede  aux  roches  anciennes.  A  Guise,  le  depot  erratique 
.  .  .  est  compose  de  quartzites  et  de  schistes  de  transition 
de  quelques  gres  plus  recents,  de  silex  de  la  craie,  et  surtout 
de  quartz  laiteux,  dont  le  volume  varie  depuis  celui  de  la 
tete  jusqu'a  celui  de  grains  de  sable.  .  .  .  Au  dela  les 
fragments  de  roches  anciennes  diminuent  graduellement 
en  volume  et  en  nombre."  At  Paris  the  granitic  debris 
brought  down  by  the  Yonne  forms  a  notable  proportion 
of  the  gravel  ;  and  at  Precy,  near  Creil,  on  the  Oise,  the 
fragments  of  the  ancient  rocks  are  abundant  ;  but  lower 
down  the  Seine,  at  Mantes,  they  are  smaller  and  less 
numerous,  while  at  Rouen  and  Pont  de  I'Arche  I  found 
none,  though  a  longer  search  would  doubtless  have  shown 
fragments  of  them.  This  case  of  the  Oise  is,  however, 
interesting,  not  only  on  account  of  the  valuable  evidence 
contained  in  the  above  quotation,  but  because,  though 
the  river  flows,  as  a  glance  at  the  map  will  show,  im- 
mediately across  and  at  right  angles  to  the  Somme,  yet 
none  of  the  ancient  rocks  which  form  the  valley  of  the 
Oise  have  supplied  any  debris  to  the  valley  of  the 
Somme  :  and  this,  though  the  two  rivers  are  at  one  point 
within  six  miles  of  one  another,  and  separated  by  a  ridge 
only  eighty  feet  in  height. 

The  same  division  occurs  between  the  Seine  and  the 
Loire  :  "  Bien  que  la  ligne  de  partage  des  eaux  de  la 
Loire  et  de  la  Seine,  entre  St  Amand  (Nievre)  et  Artenay, 
au  nord  d'Orleans,  soit  a  peine  sensible,  aucun   debris  de 

^  D'Arch'\a.c,  Pro^'-re's  de  la  Gt'o/o^ie,  p.  163.  ^  Jbid.Joc.  cit.,  p.  155. 


368  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

roches  venant  du  centre  de  la  France,  par  la  vallee  de  la 
Loire  n'est  passe  dans  le  bassin  de  la  Seine."  ^ 

In  the  Vivarais  near  Auvergne,  "  Les  depots  diluviens 
sont  composes  des  m^mes  roches  que  celles  que  les  rivieres 
actuelles  entrainent  dans  les  vallees,  et  sont  les  debris  des 
seules  montagnes  de  la  Lozin,  du  Tanargue  et  du  Mezene, 
qui  entourent  le  bassin  du  Vivarais."  ^ 

Again  : 

"  Le  diluvium  des  vallees  de  I'Aisne  et  de  I'Aire  ne 
renferme  que  les  debris  plus  ou  moins  roules  des  terrains 
que  ces  rivieres  coupent  dans  leur  cours."  ^ 

The  same  thing  holds  good  in  various  English  rivers. 
The  conclusion  deduced  by  M.  D'Archiac  from  the  con- 
sideration of  these  observations,  and  specially  from  those 
concerning  the  valley  of  the  Seine,  is,  "  Que  les  courants 
diluviens  ne  venaient  point  d'une  direction  unique,  mais 
qu'ils  convergaient  des  bords  du  bassin  vers  son  centre, 
suivant  les  depressions  preexistantes,  et  que  leur  elevation 
ou  leur  force  de  transport  ne  suffisait  pas  pour  /aire  passer  les 
debris  quils  charriaient  d'une  de  ces  vallees  dans  V autre.''  * 

Considering,  however,  all  these  facts,  remembering 
that  the  constituents  of  these  river-drift  gravels  are,  in  all 
cases,  derived  from  beds  now  in  situ  along  the  valley, 
that  they  have  not  only  followed  the  lines  of  these  valleys, 
but  have  done  so  in  the  direction  of  the  present  waterflow, 
and  without  in  any  case  passing  across  from  one  river 
system  to  another,  it  seems  quite  unnecessary  to  call  in 
the  assistance  of  diluvial  waves,  or  indeed  any  other 
agency  than  that  of  the  rivers  themselves. 

There  are,  however,  certain  facts  in  the  case  which 
were  long  regarded  by  most  geologists  as  fatal  to  this 
hypothesis,  and  which  prevented  M.  D'Archiac,  as  well 
as  the  French  geologists  generally,  from  adopting  an 
explanation  apparently  so  simple  and  so  obvious.  These 
difficulties  appear  to  have  been  twofold,  or  at  least  the 
two  principal  were  firstly,  the  large  sandstone  blocks 
which    are    scattered    throughout    the    river    gravels    of 

^  Loc.cit.,  p.  164.  -  Loc.  ctt.,  p.  160. 

3  Malbos.  Bull.  Geo..,  vol.  iii.  p.  631.  *  Loc.  cit.,  p.  163. 


OBJECTIONS   TO   PROPOSED   THEORY    369 


^^m^ 


'  V  f  >,C'  jy  .0  V  *'-*>■  \  ^^  .0. 


northern  and  central  France  ;  and  secondly,  the  height 
at  which  the  upper-level  gravels  stand  above  the  present 
water-line.  We  will  consider  these  two  objections 
separately. 

It  must  be  admitted  that  the  presence  of  the  sandstone 
blocks  in  the  gravels  appears  at  first  sight  to  be  irrecon- 
cilable with  our  hypothesis.  In  some  places  they  occur 
frequently,  and  are  of  considerable  size  ;  the  largest  I 
have  myself  seen  is  represented  in  the  section,  fig.  252, 
taken  close  to  the  railway-station  at  Joinville.  It  was 
8  ft.  6  in.  in  length,  with  a  width  of  2  ft.  8  in.,  and  a 
thickness  of  3  ft.  4  in. 
Even  when  we  re- 
member that  at  the 
time  of  its  deposition 
the  valley  was  not 
excavated  to  its  pre- 
sent depth,  we  must 
still  feel  that  a  body 
of  water  with  power 
to  move  such  masses 
as  these  must  have 
been  very  different 
from  any  floods  now 
occurring  in  those  valleys,  and  might  fairly  deserve  the 
name  of  a  cataclysm.  But  whence  could  we  obtain 
so  great  a  quantity  of  water  .?  We  have  already  seen 
that  the  gravel  of  the  Oise,  though  so  near,  is  entirely 
unlike  that  of  the  Somme  ;  while  that  of  the  Seine,  again, 
is  quite  different  from  that  of  any  of  the  neighbouring 
rivers.  These  rivers,  therefore,  cannot  have  drained  a 
larger  area  than  at  present  ;  the  river  systems  must  have 
been  the  same  as  now.  Nor  would  the  supposition, 
after  all,  account  for  the  phenomena.  We  should  but 
fall  from  Scylla  into  Charybdis.  Around  the  blocks  we 
see  no  evidence  of  violent  action  ;  in  the  section  at 
Joinville,  the  grey  sub-angular  gravel  passed  under  the 
large  block  above-mentioned,  with  scarcely  any  traces  of 
disturbance.     But   a   flood    which   could   bring  down   so 

24 


Ficf.  252. — Section  taken  in  a  pit  close  to  the 

Joinville  station, 
6,  Red  angular  gravel,  containing  a  very  large 
sandstone  block  ;  d,  Grey  subangular  gravel. 


370  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

great  a  mass  would  certainly  have  swept  away  the  com- 
paratively light  and  movable  gravel  below.  We  cannot, 
therefore,  account  for  the  phenomena  by  violent  aqueous 
action,  because  a  flood  which  would  deposit  the  sand- 
stone blocks  would  remove  the  underlying  gravel,  and 
a  flood  which  would  deposit  the  gravel  would  not  move 
the  blocks.  The  deus  ex  machina  has  not  only  been 
called  in  most  unnecessarily,  but,  when  examined,  turns 
out  to  be  but  an  idol  after  all. 

Driven,  then,  to  seek  some  other  explanation  of  the 
difficulty.  Sir  J.  Prestwich  falls  back  on  that  of  floating 
ice.  Here  we  have  an  agency  which  would  satisfactorily 
explain  all  the  difficulties  of  the  case.  The  "  packing  " 
and  propelling  action  of  ice.  would  also  account  for  some 
irregularities  in  the  arrangement  of  the  beds,  which  are 
very  difficult  otherwise  to  understand.  Nor  is  it  the 
physical  evidence  only  which  points  to  an  arctic  climate 
during  the  period  now  under  consideration  ;  the  fauna,  as 
we  have  already  seen,  tells  the  same  tale. 

But  though  the  presence  of  the  sandstone  blocks  and 
the  occasional  contortions  of  the  strata  are  in  perfect 
accordance  with  the  view  that  the  gravels  have  been 
deposited  by  the  rivers,  our  second  difficulty  still  remains 
— namely,  the  height  at  which  the  upper-level  gravels 
stand  above  the  present  water-line.  We  cannot  wonder 
that  these  beds  were  so  long  attributed  to  violent 
cataclysms. 

M.  Boucher  de  Perthes  was  always  of  this  opinion. 
"  Ce  coquillage,"  he  says,  "  cet  elephant,  cette  hache,  ou 
la  main  qui  la  fabriqua,  furent  done  temoins  du  cata- 
clysme  qui  donna  a  notre  pays  sa  configuration  pre- 
sente."  ^ 

M.  C.  D'Orbigny,  observing  that  the  fossils  found  in 
these  quaternary  beds  are  all  either  of  land  or  freshwater 
animals,  wisely  dismisses  the  theory  of  any  marine  action, 
but  he  expresses  himself  as  follows  : — "  En  efFet  I'opinion 
de  la  plupart  des  geologues  est  que  les  cataclysmes 
diluviens  ont  eu   pour   causes    predominantes   de   fortes 

'  Mem.  Soc.  (PEm.  d' Abbeville.,  1861,  p.  475. 


FRESHWATER   ORIGIN   OF   GRAVELS    371 

oscillations  de  I'ecorce  terrestre,  des  soulevement  de 
montagnes  au  milieu  de  I'ocean,  d'ou  seraient  resultees 
de  grandes  Erosions.  Par  consequent  les  puissants 
courants  d'eau  marine,  auxquels  on  attribue  ces  erosions 
diluviennes,  auraient  dCi  kisser  sur  les  continents  des 
traces  authentiques  de  leur  passage,  tels  que  de  nombreux 
debris  de  coquilles,  de  poissons  et  autres  animaux  marins 
analogues  a  ceux  qui  vivent  actuellement  dans  la  mer. 
Or,  ainsi  que  M.  Cordier  I'a  fait  remarker  depuis  long- 
temps  a  sons  cours  de  geologie,  rien  de  semblable  n'a  ete 
constate.  Sur  tous  les  points  du  globe  ou  Ton  a  etudie 
les  dep6ts  diluviens,  on  a  reconnu  que,  sauf  quelques 
rares  exceptions  tres  contestables  il  n'existe  dans  ces 
depots  aucun  fossil  marin  :  ou  bien  ce  sont  des  fossiles 
arraches  aux  terrains  preexistants,  dont  la  denudation  a 
fourni  les  materiaux  qui  composent  le  diluvium.  En 
sorte  que  les  dep6ts  diluviens  semblent  avoir  eu  pour 
cause  des  phenomenes  meteorologiques,  et  paraissent  etre 
le  resultat  d'immenses  inondations  d'eau  douce  et  non 
d'eau  marine,  qui,  se  precipitant  des  points  eleves  vers  la 
mer,  auraient  denude  une  grande  partie  de  la  surface  du 
sol,  balaye  la  generalite  des  etres  organises  et  pour  ainsi 
dire  nivele,  coordonne  les  bassins  hydrographiques 
actuels."  ^ 

Such  cataclysms,  however,  as  those  thus  suggested  by 
M.  D'Orbigny,  and  many  other  French  geologists,  even 
if  admitted,  would  not  account  for  the  results  before  us. 
We  have  seen  that  the  transport  of  materials  has  not 
followed  any  single  direction,  but  has  in  all  cases  followed 
the  lines  of  the  present  valleys,  and  the  direction  of  the 
present  water-flow  ;  that  the  rocks  of  one  valley  are  never 
transported  into  another  ;  that  the  condition  of  the  lotiss 
is  irreconcilable  with  a  great  rush  of  water  ;  while,  finally, 
the  perfect  preservation  of  many  of  the  most  delicate 
shells  is  clear  proof  that  the  phenomena  are  not  due  to 
violent  or  cataclysmic  action. 

Wc  must,  moreover,  bear  in  mind  that  the  gravels  and 

'  C.  D'Orbigny,  Bull.  Geo.,  2nd  series,  V.  xvii.  p.  6.     See  also  D'Archiac, 
loc.  cit.  passim. 


372  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

sands  are  themselves  both  the  proof  and  the  results  of  an 
immense  denudation.  In  a  chalk  country,  such  as  that 
through  which  the  Somme  flows,  each  cubic  foot  of  flint, 
gravel,  or  sand  represents  the  removal  of,  at  the  very  least, 
twenty  cubic  feet  of  chalk,  all  of  which,  as  we  have  already 
seen,  must  have  been  removed  from  the  present  area  of 
drainage.  In  considering,  therefore,  the  formation  of 
these  upper  and  older  gravels,  we  must  not  picture  to 
ourselves  the  original  valley  as  it  now  is,  but  must,  in 
imagination,  restore  all  that  immense  mass  of  chalk  which 
has  been  destroyed  in  the  formation  of  the  gravels  and 
sands.  This  is  no  mere  hypothesis,  since  the  mass  of 
sand  and  gravel  cannot  have  been  produced  without  an 
immense  removal  of  the  chalk.  On  the  whole,  then,  we 
may  safely  conclude  that  the  upper-level  gravels  were 
deposited  by  the  existing  river,  before  it  had  excavated 
the  valley  to  its  present  depth,  and  when  consequently  it 
ran  at  a  level  considerably  higher  than  the  present. 

Far,  therefore,  from  requiring  an  immense  flood  of 
water,  two  hundred  feet  in  depth,  the  accumulation  of 
the  gravel  may  have  been  effected  by  an  annual  volume 
of  water,  differing  little  from  that  of  the  present  river. 

A  given  quantity  of  water  will,  however,  produce  very 
different  effects,  according  to  the  rapidity  with  which  it 
flows.  "  We  learn  from  observation  that  a  velocity  of 
three  inches  per  second  at  the  bottom  will  just  begin  to 
work  upon  fine  clay  fit  for  pottery,  and,  however  firm  and 
compact  i't  may  be,  it  will  tear  it  up.  Yet  no  beds  are  more 
stable  than  clay  when  the  velocities  do  not  exceed  this  ; 
for  the  water  even  takes  away  the  impalpable  particles  of 
the  superficial  clay,  leaving  the  particles  of  sand  sticking 
by  their  lower  half  in  the  rest  of  the  clay,  which  they  now 
protect,  making  a  very  permanent  bottom,  if  the  stream 
does  not  bring  down  gravel  or  coarse  sand,  which  will 
rub  off  this  very  thin  crust,  and  allow  another  layer  to  be 
worn  off.  A  velocity  of  6  inches  will  lift  fine  sand,  8 
inches  will  lift  sand  as  coarse  as  linseed,  i2  inches  will 
sweep  along  fine  gravel,  24  inches  will  roll  along  rounded 
pebbles  an   inch   in   diameter,  and  it   requires  3  feet  per 


GRADUAL   EXCAVATION   OF   VALLEY    373 

second  at  the  bottom  to  sweep  along  shivery  angular 
stones  of  the  size  of  an  egg."  ^ 

If,  therefore,  we  are  justified  in  assuming  a  colder 
climate  than  that  now  existing,  we  should  much  increase 
the  erosive  action  of  the  river,  not  only  because  the  rains 
would  fall  on  a  frozen  surface,  but  because  the  rainfall 
of  the  winter  months  would  accumulate  on  the  high 
grounds  in  the  form  of  ice  and  snow,  and  would  every 
spring  produce  floods  much  greater  than  any  which  now 
occur.^ 

Moreover,  as  Sir  J.  Evans  has  well  pointed  out,  in 
ancient  times,  and  before  the  river  valleys  were  excavated 
to  their  present  depths,  the  chalk  might  have  been 
saturated  with  water  to  a  greater  height  than  at  present, 
and  this  also  would  have  rendered  floods  more  frequent 
and  more  severe  than  at  present. 

Returning  to  the  fig.  given  on  p.  364,  we  now  come  to 
the  light-coloured  marl  (fig.  251,  c).  Sir  J.  Prestwich 
described  it  as  follows  :  Of  white  siliceous  sand  and  light- 
coloured  marl,  mixed  with  fine  chalk  grit,  a  few  large 
sub-angular  flints,  and  an  occasional  sandstone  block, 
irregular  patches  of  flint  gravel,  bedding  waved  and 
contorted,  here  and  there  layers  with  diagonal  seams,  a 
few  ochreous  bands,  portions  concreted.  Sand  and  fresh- 
water shells  common,  some  mammalian  remains. 

In  the  pits  at  Amiens  this  bed  is  generally  distinct 
from  the  underlying  gravels,  owing  perhaps  to  the  upper 
portion  of  the  gravel  having  been  removed  ;  but  in  several 
places  (Precy,  Ivry,  Bicetre,  etc.)  this  section  is  complete, 
the  coarser  gravel  below  becoming  finer  and  finer,  and  at 
length  passing  above  into  siliceous  sand.  These  sections 
evidently  indicate  a  gradual  loss  of  power  in  the  water  at 
these  particular  spots  ;  rapid  enough  at  first  to  bring 
down  large  pebbles,  its  force  became  less  and  less,  until 
at  length  it  was  only  able  to  carry  fine  sand.  This, 
therefore,  appears  to  indicate  a  slight  change  in  the  course 
of  the  river,  and  gradual  excavation  of  the  valley,  which, 

'   Cyc.  Brii.,  article  "  Rivers,"  p.  274. 

2  See  Murchison's  Geology  of  Russia  and  t he  Ural  Mountains^  p.  572. 


374  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

by  supplying  the  floods  with  a  lower  bed,  left  the  waters 
at  this  height  with  a  gradually  diminishing  force  and 
velocity. 

The  upper  part  of  the  section  of  St  Acheul  consists  of 
brick  earth  (fig.  251,  «),  passing  below  into  angular  gravel, 
while  between  this  and  the  underlying  sandy  marl  is 
sometimes  a  small  layer  of  darker  brick  earth.  These 
beds,  however,  vary  much  even  in  adjoining  sections. 
Taken  as  a  whole,  they  may  be  regarded  as  the  repre- 
sentatives of  that  remarkable  loamy  deposit  which  is 
found  overlying  the  gravels  in  all  these  valleys  of  northern 
France,  and  which,  as  the  celebrated  "  loess "  of  the 
Rhine,  attains  in  some  places  a  thickness  of  three  hundred 
feet.  The  greatest  development  of  it  which  I  have  seen 
in  the  north  of  France  was  in  a  pit  in  the  Rue  de  la 
Chevalerie,  near  Ivry,  where  it  was  twenty-two  feet  thick  ; 
some  of  this,  however,  may  have  been  reconstructed  loess 
brought  down  by  rain  from  the  higher  ground  in  the 
immediate  neighbourhood.  Assuming  that  this  loess  is 
composed  of  fine  particles  deposited  from  standing  or 
slowly-moving  waters,  we  might  be  disposed  to  wonder 
at  not  finding  in  it  any  traces  of  vegetable  remains.  We 
know,  however,  from  the  arrangement  of  the  nails  and 
hasps,  that  in  some  of  the  St  Acheul  tombs  wooden 
coffins  were  used,  while  the  size  of  the  nails  shows  that 
the  planks  must  have  been  tolerably  thick  ;  yet  every 
trace  of  wood  has  been  removed,  and  not  even  a  stain 
is  left  to  indicate  its  presence.  We  need  not,  therefore, 
wonder  at  the  absence  of  vegetable  remains  in  the  drift. 

Such  is  a  general  account  of  those  gravel-pits  which 
lie  at  a  height  of  from  eighty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  above  the  present  water-level  of  the  valleys,  and 
which,  along  the  Somme,  are  found  in  some  places  even 
at  a  height  of  two  hundred  feet. 

Sir  J.  Prestwich  gives  the  following  table  of  the 
mammalia.  To  this  list  we  may  add  the  lemming,  the 
Myodes  torquatus^  and  the  musk-ox,  which  has  been  found 
at  two  spots  in  the  Thames  valley,  as  well  as  at  Chauny 
on  the  Oise. 


PITS   AT   LOWER   LEVELS 


375 


Elephas  primigenius,  Blum, 

antiquus,  Falc.    . 

Rhinoceros  tichorhinus,  Cm 

megarhinos,  Chrisiol. 

Ursus  spelaeus,  Blum.  . 
Hysena  spelsea,  Gold.    . 
Felis  speiaea,  Gold. 
Bos  primigenius,  Boj.  . 
Bison  priscus,  Boj. 
Equus  (possibly  two  species) 
Cervus  euryceros,  Aldr. 

elaphus,  Linn. 

tarandus,  Linn,   . 

Hippopotamus  major,  Nesti 
Sus      .... 


Bedford. 

Great 
Northern 
Railway,  or 
Summer- 
house  Hill. 


*? 


Abbe- 

Amiens. 

Paris. 

ville. 

Crenelle, 

Menche- 

St  Roch. 

Ivry, 
Clichy, 

court. 

or  the  Rue 
de  Reuily. 

« 

* 

* 

* 

*c 

* 

* 

* 

* 

*?.?■ 

If 
* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

*c 

* 

» 

* 

* 

* 

* 

* 

*c 

* 

*g 

* 

Let  us  now  visit  some  of  the  pits  at  the  lower  levels. 
At  about  thirty  feet  lower,  as  for  instance  at  Menchecourt, 
near  Abbeville,  and  at  St  Roch  near  Amiens,  where  the 
gravel  slopes  from  a  height  of  sixty  feet  down  to  the 
present  bottom  of  the  valley,  we  find  almost  a  repetition 
of  the  same  succession  ;  coarse  sub-angular  gravel  below, 
finer  materials  above.  So  similar,  indeed,  are  these  beds 
to  those  already  described,  that  it  will  be  unnecessary  for 
me  to  give  any  special  description  of  them. 

It  is  possible  that  when  the  fauna  and  flora  of  the 
upper  and  lower  level  gravels  shall  have  been  more 
thoroughly  investigated,  they  may  be  found  to  be  almost 
identical.  At  present,  however,  the  species  obtained 
from  the  lower-level  gravels  are  more  numerous  than 
those  from  the  upper  levels. 

The  mollusca  are  52  in  number,  of  which  42  now  live 
in  Sweden,  37  in  Finland,  and  38  in  Lombardy.  Bearing 
in  mind  that  Lombardy  is  much  richer  than  Finland  in 
mollusca,  this  assemblage  has  rather  a  northern  aspect. 

In  such  a  group  of  species  as  this,  the  hippopotamus 
seems  singularly  out  of  place,  and  in  the  preceding  chapter 
I  have  discussed  the  conclusions  which  are,  I  think,  to  be 


376  PREHISTORIC  TIMES 

drawn  from  its  presence  :  taking  the  fauna  as  a  whole, 
however,  and  looking  more  especially  to  such  animals  as 
the  musk-ox,  the  reindeer,  the  lemming,  the  Myodes 
torquatus^  the  Siberian  mammoth,  and  its  faithful  companion, 
the  woolly-haired  rhinoceros,  we  have  clear  evidence  of 
a  climate  unlike  that  now  prevailing  in  Western  Europe. 

The  valley  was  once  considerably  deeper  than  at  present 
and  is  partly  filled  up  by  a  bed  of  gravel,  covered  by 
silt  and  peat,  which  latter  is  in  some  places  more  than 
thirty  or  even  forty  feet  thick,  and  is  extensively  worked 
for  fuel.  These  strata  have  afforded  to  the  antiquaries 
of  the  neighbourhood,  and  especially  to  M.  Boucher  de 
Perthes,  a  rich  harvest  of  interesting  relics  belonging  to 
various  periods.  The  depth  at  which  these  objects  are 
found  has  been  carefully  noted  by  M.  Boucher  de  Perthes. 

"  Prenant,"  he  says,  "pour  terme  moyen  du  sol  de  la 
vallee,  une  hauteur  de  2  metres  audessus  du  niveau  de  la 
Somme,  c'est  a  30  a  40  centimetres  de  la  surface  qu'on 
rencontre  le  plus  abondamment  les  traces  du  moyen-age. 
Cinquante  centimetres  plus  bas,  on  commence  a  trouver 
des  debris  romains  puis  gallo-romains.  On  continue  a 
suivre  ces  derniers  pendant  un  metre,  c'est  a  dire  jusqu'au 
niveau  de  la  Somme.  Apres  eux,  viennent  les  vestiges 
gaulois  purs  qui  descendent  sans  interruption  jusqu'a 
pres  de  2  metres  audessous  de  ce  niveau,  preuve  de  la 
longue  habitation  de  ces  peuples  dans  la  vallee.  C'est  a 
un  metre  plus  bas,  ou  a  4  metres  environ  audessous  de 
ce  meme  niveau,  qu'on  arrive  au  centre  du  sol  que  nous 
avons  nomme  Celtique,  celui  que  foulerent  les  Gaulois 
primitives  ou  les  peuples  qui  les  precederent "  ;  and 
which  belonged,  therefore,  to  the  Neolithic  Period.  It 
is,  however,  hardly  necessary  to  add  that  these  thicknesses 
are  only  given  by  M.  Boucher  de  Perthes  "  comme 
terme  approximatif "  ;  and  in  other  localities  no  doubt 
the  growth  was  more  rapid.  Mr  Southall  ^  gives  instances 
of  more  rapid  accumulation  ;  nevertheless,  without  attach- 
ing too  much  importance  to  M.  Boucher  de  Perthes' 
calculation,  it  is  obvious  that  the  formation  of  so  great 

•  Recent  Origin  of  Man,  pp.  270,  467. 


OBJECTS   FOUND   IN   THE   PEAT       377 

a  mass  of  peat  must  have  required  a  considerable  lapse 
of  time. 

The  Antiquites  Celtiques  was  published  several  years 
before  the  Swiss  archaeologists  had  made  us  acquainted 
with  the  nature  of  the  lake-dwellings  ;  but,  from  some 
indications  given  by  M.  Boucher  de  Perthes,  it  would 
appear  that  there  must  have  been,  at  one  time,  lake- 
habitations  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Abbeville.  He 
found  considerable  platforms  of  wood,  with  large  quantities 
of  bones,  stone  implements,  and  handles  closely  resembling 
those  which  come  from  the  Swiss  lake-villages. 

These  weapons  cannot  for  an  instant  be  confounded 
with  the  ruder  ones  from  the  drift-gravel.  They  are 
ground  to  a  smooth  surface  and  a  cutting  edge,  while 
those  of  the  more  ancient  types  are  merely  chipped,  not 
one  of  the  many  hundreds  already  found  having  shown 
the  slightest  trace  of  grinding.  Yet  though  the  former 
belong  to  the  Stone  Age,  to  a  time  so  remote  that  the 
use  of  metal  was  apparently  still  unknown  in  Western 
Europe,  they  are  separated  from  the  earlier  weapons  of 
the  upper-level  drift  by  the  whole  period  necessary  for 
the  excavation  of  the  Somme  valley,  to  a  depth  of  more 
than  one  hundred  feet  and  its  refilling  by  some  twenty 
or  thirty  feet  of  peat. 

If,  therefore,  we  get  no  definite  date  for  the  arrival  of 
man  in  these  countries,  we  can  at  least  form  a  vivid  idea 
of  his  antiquity.  He  must  have  seen  the  Somme  running 
at  a  height  of  about  a  hundred  feet  above  its  present 
level.  It  is,  indeed,  probable  that  he  dates  back  in 
northern  France  almost,  if  not  quite,  as  far  as  some  of 
the  rivers  themselves.  The  fauna  of  the  country  was 
unlike  what  it  is  now.  Along  the  banks  of  the  rivers 
ranged  a  savage  race  of  hunters  and  fishermen,  and  in  the 
forests  wandered  the  mammoth,  the  two-horned  woolly 
rhinoceros,  a  species  of  lion,  the  musk-ox,  the  reindeer, 
and  the  urus. 

Yet  the  geography  of  France  cuimot  have  been  very 
different  from  what  it  is  at  present.  The  present  rivers 
ran  in  their  present  directions,  and  the  sea  even   then  lay 


378  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

between  the  Somme  and  the  Adour,  though  the  channel 
was  not  so  wide  as  it  is  now. 

Gradually  the  river  deepened  its  valley  ;  ineffective, 
or  even  perhaps  constructive,  in  autumn  and  winter,  the 
melting  of  the  snows  turned  it  every  spring  into  a  roaring 
torrent.  These  floods  were  perhaps  more  destructive  to 
animals  even  than  man  himself  ;  while,  however  rude  they 
may  have  been,  our  predecessors  can  hardly  be  supposed 
to  have  been  incapable  of  foreseeing  and  consequently 
escaping  the  danger. 

While  the  water  had  sufficient  force  to  deposit  coarse 
gravel  at  any  given  level,  at  a  still  higher  one  it  would 
part  with  finer  particles,  and  would  thus  form  the  lofiss, 
which  at  the  same  time  would  here  and  there  receive 
angular  flints  and  shells  brought  down  from  the  hills  in  a 
more  or  less  transverse  direction  by  the  rivulets  after 
heavy  rains. 

Sir  J.  Prestwich  regards  the  difference  of  level  between 
the  upper  gravels  and  the  lofiss  as  "a  measure  of  the 
floods  of  that  period."  If  the  gravel-beds  were  complete, 
this  would  no  doubt  be  the  case  ;  but  it  seems  to  me  that 
the  upper-level  gravels  are  mere  fragments  of  an  originally 
almost  continuous  deposit,  and  under  such  circumstances 
the  present  cannot  be  taken  as  evidence  of  the  original 
difference. 

As  the  valley  became  deeper  and  deeper,  the  gravel 
would  be  deposited  at  lower  and  lower  levels,  the  loess 
always  following  it  ;^  thus  we  must  not  consider  the  loess 
as  a  distinct  bed,  but  as  one  which  was  being  formed  during 
the  same  time,  though  never  at  the  same  place,  as  the 
beds  of  gravel.  In  fig.  253  I  have  given  a  diagram,  the 
better  to  illustrate  my  meaning  ;  the  loess  is  indicated  by 
letters  with  a  dash  and  is  dotted,  while  the  gravels  are 
represented  as  rudely  stratified.  In  this  case  I  suppose 
the  river  to  have  run  originally  on  the  level  (i),  and  to 
have  deposited  the  gravel  [a)  and  the  loess  [a')  ;  after  a 
certain  amount  of  erosion,  which  would  reduce  the  level 

'  See  Sir  J.  Prestwich's  paper  read  before  the  Royal  Society,  June   19, 
1862. 


RELATION  OF  LOESS  TO  THE  GRAVEL    379 

to  (2),  the  gravel  would  be  spread  out  at  (^),  and  loess  at 
(J?').  Similarly  the  lofiss  {/)  would  be  contemporaneous 
with  the  gravel  {c). 

Thus,  while  in  each  pit  the  lower  beds  would  of  course 
be  the  oldest,  still  the  upper-level  gravels  as  a  whole 
would  be  the  most  ancient,  and  the  beds  lying  in  the 
lower  parts  of  the  valley  the  most  modern. 

For  convenience,  I  have  represented  the  sides  of  the 
valley  as  forming  a  series  of  terraces  ;  and  though  this  is 
not  actually  the  case,  there  are  places  in  which  such 
terraces  do  occur. 


CHALk 


Fig.  253. — Diagram  to  illustrate  deposit  of  loess  and  gravel. 
a'.  Loess  corresponding  to  and  contemporaneous  with  the  gravel  a  ;   b'.   Loess 
corresponding  to  and  contemporaneous  with  the  gravel  b  ;  c',    Loess  corre- 
sponding to  and  contemporaneous  with  the  gravel  c.      i,  Level  of  valley  at 
period  a  ;  2,  Level  of  valley  at  period  b  ;  3,  Level  of  valley  at  present. 

The  valley  of  the  Somme  is  comparatively  straight,  but 
within  it  the  river  winds  considerably,  and  when  in  one 
of  its  curves  the  current  crosses  "  its  general  line  of 
descent,  it  eats  out  a  curve  on  the  opposite  bank,  or  in 
the  side  of  the  hills  bounding  the  valley,  from  which 
curve  it  is  turned  back  again  at  an  equal  angle,  so  that  it 
recrosses  the  line  of  descent,  and  gradually  hollows  out 
another  curve  lower  down  in  the  opposite  bank,"  till  the 
whole  sides  of  the  valley,  or  river-bed,  "  present  a  succes- 
sion of  salient  and  retiring  angles."  ^  During  these 
wanderings  from  one  side  of  the  valley  to  the  other,  the 
river  continually  undermines  and  removes  the  gravels 
which  at  an  earlier  period  it  had  deposited.  Thus  the 
upper-level  gravels  are  now  only  to  be  found  here  and 
there,  as   it  were,  in   patches,  while   in   many   parts   they 

'   Lyell's  I'rinciples,  p.  206, 


38o  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

have  altogether  disappeared  ;  as,  for  instance,  on  the  right 
side  of  the  valley  between  Amiens  and  Pont  Remy,  where 
hardly  a  trace  of  the  high-level  gravels  is  to  be  seen. 

The  neighbouring  shores  of  England  and  France  show 
various  traces  of  a  slight  and  recent  elevation  of  the  land. 
Raised  beaches  have  been  observed  at  an  elevation  of  from 
five  to  ten  feet  at  various  points  along  the  coast  of  Sussex 
and  the  Pas  de  Calais.  Marine  shells  also  occur  at 
Abbeville  about  twenty-five  feet  above  the  sea-level,^  and 
no  doubt  this  change  of  level  has  had  an  important  bearing 
on  the  excavation  of  the  valley. 

Mr  A.  Tylor,^  in  a  recent  memoir,  agrees  with  me 
that  the  upper-level  and  lower-level  gravels  are  merely 
the  extremes  of  a  series,  seldom  complete,  but  generally 
imperfect,  sometimes  in  one  part,  sometimes  in  another. 
But  he  also  maintains  that  the  surface  of  the  chalk  in  the 
valley  of  the  Somme  had  assumed  its  present  form  prior 
to  the  deposition  of  any  of  the  gravel  or  loess  now  existing 
in  it.  As,  however,  he  admits  that  the  materials  forming 
this  gravel  and  lofiss  are  derived  exclusively  from  the  area 
drained  by  the  Somme  and  its  tributaries,  he  involves 
himself  in  a  double  difficulty.  In  the  first  place  he  main- 
tains that  the  materials,  by  the  removal  of  which  the 
valley  was  formed,  were  swept  completely  out  of  the 
valley,  which,  considering  its  length,  depth,  and  narrow- 
ness, appears  to  be  impossible  ;  and  in  the  second  place, 
the  admission  that  the  gravel  and  sand  consist  of  flint 
debris  brought  down  by  the  Somme  and  its  tributaries  is 
fatal  to  his  argument,  since  you  cannot  remove  matter 
from  one  place  to  another  without  affecting  the  configura- 
tion of  the  surface  in  both.  In  admitting,  then,  that  "  the 
gravel  in  the  valley  of  the  Somme  at  Amiens  is  partly 
derived  from  debris  brought  down  by  the  river  Somme, 
and  by  the  two  rivers,  the  Celle  and  the  Arve,  and  partly 
consists  of  material  from  the  adjoining  higher  grounds, 

'  The  higher-level  gravels  in  some  places  fringe  the  coast  at  an  elevation 
of  as  much  as  one  hundred  feet  ;  this  phenomenon,  however,  I  should  be 
disposed  to  refer  partly  to  an  encroachment  of  the  sea  on  the  land,  and 
the  consequent  intersection  of  the  old  river-beds  at  a  higher  level. 

2  Geol.  Jour7ial^  vol.  xxiv.  p.  105. 


RECAPITULATION  3  8 1 

washed  in  by  land-floods,"  ^  Mr  Tylor  virtually  adopts 
the  explanation  of  the  phenomena  given  in  this  work, 
since  the  formation  or  removal  of  this  gravel  necessarily 
involved  an  alteration  of  the  surface  and  a  deepening  of 
the  valley. 

When,  finally,  the  excavation  of  the  valley  was  com- 
pleted, the  climate  had  gradually  become  more  like  our 
own,  and  either  from  this  change,  or  rather  perhaps 
yielding  to  the  irresistible  power  of  man,  the  great  Pachy- 
dermata  became  extinct.  Under  the  altered  conditions 
of  level,  the  river,  unable  to  carry  out  to  sea  the  finer 
particles  brought  down  from  the  higher  levels,  deposited 
them  in  the  valley,  and  thus  raised  somewhat  its  general 
level,  checking  the  velocity  of  the  stream,  and  producing 
extensive  marshes,  in  which  a  thick  deposit  of  peat  was 
gradually  formed.  We  have,  unfortunately,  no  trust- 
worthy means  of  estimating  the  rate  of  formation  of  this 
substance,  which  indeed  varies  considerably,  according  to 
the  conditions  of  the  case  ;  but  on  any  supposition  the 
production  of  a  mass  in  some  places  more  than  thirty  feet 
in  thickness  must  have  required  a  very  considerable 
period.  Yet  it  is  in  these  beds  that  we  find  the  remains 
of  the  Neolithic  or  later  Stone  Period.  From  the  tombs 
at  St  Acheul,  from  the  Roman  remains  found  in  the 
superficial  layers  of  the  peat,  at  about  the  present  level 
of  the  river,  we  know  that  fifteen  hundred  years  have 
produced  scarcely  any  change  in  the  configuration  of  the 
valley.  In  the  peat,  and  at  a  depth  of  about  fifteen  feet 
in  the  alluvium  at  Abbeville,  are  the  remains  of  the 
Neolithic  Period,  which  we  have  ample  reason  for  believ- 
ing, from  the  researches  in  Denmark,  Switzerland,  and 
other  countries,  to  be  of  no  slight  antiquity.  Yet  all 
these  are  subsequent  to  the  excavation  of  the  valley. 
What  date,  then,  are  we  to  ascribe  to  the  men  who  lived 
when  the  Somme  was  but  beginning  its  great  task  }  No 
one  can  properly  appreciate  the  lapse  of  time  indicated, 
who  has  not  stood  on  the  heights  of  Liercourt,  Picquigny, 
or  on  one  of  the  other  points  overlooking  the  valley  of 
1  Loc.  cit.^  p.  105. 


382  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

the  Somme  ;  or  I  may  add,  on  the  summit  of  one  of  our 
English  Chalk  hills,  as  for  instance  on  Well  Hill  above 
Chelsfield,  or  on  the  ridge  of  the  escarpment  in  Kent, 
overlooking  the  valleys  of  the  Darent  or  the  Medway  ; 
nor  I  am  sure,  could  any  geologist  return  from  such  a 
visit  without  an  overpowering  sense  of  the  changes 
which  have  taken  place,  and  the  length  of  time  which 
must  have  elapsed  since  the  first  appearance  of  man  in 
Western  Europe. 


CHAPTER   XII 

ON    THE    ANTIQUITY    OF    MAN 

Although  the  facts  recorded  in  the  preceding  chapters 
have  been  for  the  most  part  discovered  within  a  com- 
paratively recent  period,  it  is  by  no  means  merely  of  late 
years,  or  among  archaeologists  only,  that  the  difficulties 
in  Archbishop  Usher's  chronology  have  been  felt  to  be 
insuperable.  Historians,  philologists,  and  physiologists 
have  alike  admitted  that  the  short  period  allowed  could 
hardly  be  reconciled  with  the  history  of  some  Eastern 
nations  ;  that  it  did  not  leave  room  for  the  develop- 
ment either  of  the  different  languages,  or  (assuming 
the  unity  of  the  human  race)  for  the  important  physical 
peculiarities  by  which  the  various  races  of  men  are 
distinguished. 

Thus,  Dr  Prichard  says  :  "  Many  writers  who  have 
been  by  no  means  inclined  to  raise  objections  against  the 
authority  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  and  in  particular 
Michaelis,  have  felt  themselves  embarrassed  by  the  short- 
ness of  the  interval  between  the  Noachic  Deluge  and  the 
period  at  which  the  records  of  various  nations  commence, 
or  the  earliest  date  to  which  their  historical  memorials 
lead  us  back.  The  extravagant  claims  to  a  remote  and 
almost  fathomless  antiquity,  made  by  the  fabulists  of 
many  nations,  have  vanished  before  the  touch  of  accurate 
criticism  ;  but  after  abstracting  all  that  is  apparently 
mythological  from  the  early  traditions  of  the  Indians, 
Egyptians,  and  some  other  nations,  the  probable  history 
of  some  of  them  seems  still  to  reach  up  to  a  period  too 
remote   to   be   reconciled   with    the   short   chronology  of 

3«3 


384  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

Usher  and  Petavius.  This  has  been  so  universally  felt 
by  all  those  writers  who  have  entered  on  the  investiga- 
tion of  primeval  history  that  it  is  superfluous  to  dwell 
upon  the  subject."  ^ 

Baron  Bunsen,  one  of  the  ablest  among  those  who 
regard  the  various  forms  of  language  as  having  had  a 
common  origin,  is  forced  to  claim  for  the  human  race  an 
antiquity  of  at  least  twenty  thousand  years.  Again,  the 
ingenious  author  of  The  Genesis  of  the  Earth  and  of  Man'^ 
says  truly  that  "  one  of  the  greatest  of  the  difficulties  that 
beset  us  when  we  endeavour  to  account  for  the  commonly 
supposed  descent  of  all  mankind  from  a  single  pair,  .  .  . 
lies  in  the  fact  of  our  finding,  upon  Egyptian  monuments, 
mostly  of  the  thirteenth,  fourteenth,  and  fifteenth  centuries 
before  the  Christian  era,  representations  of  individuals  of 
numerous  nations,  African,  Asiatic,  and  European,  differ- 
ing in  physical  characteristics  as  widely  as  any  equal 
number  of  nations  of  the  present  age  that  could  be 
grouped  together  ;  among  these  being  Negroes,  of  the 
true  Negritian  stamp,  depicted  with  a  fidelity,  as  to 
colour  and  features,  hardly  to  be  surpassed  by  an  ac- 
complished modern  artist.  That  such  diversities  had 
been  produced  by  natural  means  in  the  interval  between 
that  remote  age  and  the  time  of  Noah,  probably  no  one 
versed  in  the  sciences  of  anatomy  and  physiology  will 
consider  credible  "  ;  and  he  concludes,  therefore,  that  the 
human  race  cannot  have  been  derived  from  a  single  pair. 
For,  just  as  the  philological  difficulties  will  not,  of  course, 
affect  those  who  accept  literally  the  account  given  in  our 
English  version  of  the  miraculous  creation  of  languages 
at  the  Tower  of  Babel,  so  in  the  same  way  "  the  shortness 
of  the  period  allowed  by  the  received  chronology,  for  the 
development  of  those  physical  varieties  which  distinguish 
the  different  races  of  men,"  ^  though  felt  as  "  one  of  the 
greatest  difficulties  connected  with  the  opinion  that  all 
mankind  are  descended  from  one  primitive  stock,"  will 

1  Prichard,  Researches  into   the   Physical  Hist,  of  Mankind,  vol.   v. 

P-  553- 

^  Lac.  cii.,  p.  117.  ^  Prichard,  loc.  ctt.,  p.  552. 


ETHNOLOGICAL   EVIDENCE  385 

not  affect  those  who  believe  in  the  existence  of  separate 
species  of  men. 

The  study  of  language,  again,  clearly  proves  the  great 
antiquity  of  man.  Four  thousand  years  ago  the  Assyrians, 
as  proved  by  their  inscriptions,  spoke  a  tongue  in  many 
respects  less  archaic  than  that  of  Central  Arabia  is 
now  ;  and  when  we  consider  that  it  was  descended  from 
a  parent  source  which  has  produced  all  the  other  Semitic 
languages,  that  this  again  was  probably  related  to  Libyan 
and  Egyptian,  and  that  still  further  back  lie  the  ages  in 
which  inarticulate  cries  were  gradually  moulded  into  true 
language,  we  must  feel  that  linguistic  researches  point 
most  strongly  in  the  same  direction.-^ 

Professor  Huxley  has  also  deduced  a  very  interesting 
argument  from  the  geographical  distribution  of  the  races 
of  men.  He  divides  mankind  into  four  groups,  the 
Australoid,  Negroid,  Mongoloid,  and  Xanthochroid. 
The  latter  are  the  fair,  light-haired,  blue-eyed  people 
who  occupy  a  large  part  of  Europe  ;  the  Mongoloid  are 
the  Tartar,  American,  and  Polynesian  races  ;  the  Negroid 
are  the  Negroes,  Hottentots,  and  Negritos  ;  and  the 
Australoid  type  contains  all  the  inhabitants  of  Australia, 
and  the  native  races  of  the  Deccan,  with  whom  he  also 
associates  the  ancient  Egyptians.  Whatever  difference  of 
opinion  may  exist  among  ethnologists  about  the  other  three 
divisions,  still  as  to  the  Negroid  race  most  are  agreed, 
and  this  is  the  one  to  which  I  now  wish  to  call  attention. 
The  geographical  distribution  of  the  Xanthochroid  and 
Mongoloid  races  presents  no  difficulty,  nor  will  I  here 
discuss  that  of  the  Australoid  group.  But  I  entirely 
agree  with  Professor  Huxley  that  the  present  position  of 
the  Negro  race  cannot  be  explained  excepting  on  the 
hypothesis  that  since  the  appearance  of  that  race  immense 
geographical  changes  have  taken  place, — that  continent 
has  become  ocean,  and  sea,  land.  The  negroes  are 
essentially  a  non-navigating  race  ;  they  build  no  ships, 
and  even  the  canoes  of  the  Fijians  are  evidently  copied 
from    those    of    the    Polynesians.       Now    what    is    the 

'  See  Sayce,  Int.  to  the  Set.  of  Lan^..,  vol.  ii.  p.  319. 

25 


386  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

geographical  distribution  of  the  race  ?  They  occupy  all 
Africa  south  of  the  Sahara,  which  neither  they  nor  the 
rest  of  the  true  African  fauna  have  ever  crossed  ;  and 
though  they  do  not  occur  in  Arabia,  Persia,  Hindostan, 
Siam,  or  China,  we  find  them  in  Madagascar,  and  in  the 
Andaman  Islands, — not  in  Java,  Sumatra,  or  Borneo, 
but  in  the  Malay  peninsula,  in  the  Philippines,  New 
Guinea,  the  New  Hebrides,  New  Caledonia,  the  Fiji 
Islands,  and  in  Tasmania. 

This  remarkable  distribution  is  perhaps  most  easily 
explicable  on  the  hypothesis  that  since  the  Negroid  race 
came  into  existence,  there  must  have  been  an  immense 
tract  of  land  or  a  chain  of  islands  stretching  from  the 
eastern  coast  of  Africa  right  across  the  Indian  Ocean,  and 
secondly,  that  the  sea  then  occupied  the  area  of  the 
present  great  desert.  In  whatever  manner,  however, 
these  facts  are  to  be  explained,  they  certainly  indicate  that 
the  Negro  race  is  of  very  great  antiquity. 

I  have  often  been  much  struck,  when  standing  at  the 
feet  of  glaciers,  by  the  great  size  of  the  terminal  moraines, 
and  the  length  of  time  which  must  have  been  required 
for  their  formation.  Let  us  take  as  an  instance  the 
Nigard  glacier  in  the  Justedal,  on  the  Sognefjord.  The 
Norwegian  glaciers  no  doubt  covered  formerly  a  much 
larger  area  than  that  which  they  now  occupy.  They 
retreated  as  the  cold  diminished  ;  but  we  have  already 
seen  that  man  was  present  in  Western  Europe  when  the 
general  temperature  was  several  degrees  at  least  lower 
than  it  is  at  present  ;  and  we  shall  probably,  therefore, 
be  within  the  mark  if  we  suppose  that  the  glacier  at 
Justedal  has  retreated  at  least  a  mile  up  the  valley  since 
the  period  of  the  river-drift  gravels,  and  the  entrance  of 
man  into  Europe.  Now  the  terminal  moraine  of  the 
glacier  covers  the  whole  of  this  space  with  great  blocks 
of  stones,  thousands  and  hundreds  of  thousands  in 
number,  and  yet,  although  all  these  have  probably  been 
brought  down  in  the  human  period,  I  could  only  see  a 
few  blocks  on  the  lower  end  of  the  glacier  itself. 

As    far    as   Denmark   is    concerned  we  must,  for   the 


EVIDENCE   FROM   VEGETATION       387 

present,  rely  principally  on  the  double  change  which  has 
taken  place  in  the  prevalent  vegetation.  Beech  forests 
are  now  the  pride  of  the  country,  and,  as  far  as  tradition 
goes,  they  have  always  been  so.  But,  as  is  shown  by  the 
peat-bogs,  this  is  a  mistake.  The  large  peat-mosses  do 
not  help  us  very  much  in  this  matter,  but  there  are  in 
many  of  the  forests  small  and  deep  depressions,  filled 
with  peat,  and  called  skov-mose.  These,  as  might 
naturally  be  expected,  contain  many  trees  which  grew  on 
their  edges,  and  at  length  fell  into  them.  At  the  bottom 
is  usually  an  amorphous  peat,  above  is  a  layer  of  pines — 
a  tree  which  does  not  now  grow  naturally  in  Denmark. 
Higher  up  the  pines  disappear,  and  are  replaced  by  oaks 
and  white  birches,  neither  of  which  are  now  common  in 
Denmark  ;  while  the  upper  layer  consists  principally  of 
the  Betula  verrucosa^  and  corresponds  to  the  present, 
which  we  may  call  the  Beech  Period.  Professor 
Steenstrup  has  found  stone  implements  among  the  stems 
of  the  pines  ;  and  as  the  capercailzie,  which  feeds  on  the 
young  shoots  of  the  pine,  has  been  found  in  the 
Kjokkenmoddings,  it  seems  likely,  to  say  the  least,  that 
these  shell-mounds  belong  to  the  Pine  Period,  and  that 
the  three  great  stages  of  civilization  correspond  in  some 
measure  to  these  three  periods  of  arborescent  vegetation. 
For  one  species  of  tree  thus  to  displace  another,  and  in 
its  turn  to  be  supplanted  by  a  third,  would  evidently 
require  a  great,  though  at  present  we  have  no  means  of 
measuring  how  great,  lapse  of  time. 

Turning  now  from  Denmark  to  Switzerland,  there  are 
two  cases  in  which  a  more  definite  estimate  has  been 
attempted.  We  must  not,  indeed,  place  too  much 
reliance  on  them  as  yet,  but  if  many  calculations  made 
on  different  data  shall  agree  in  the  main,  we  may  at 
length  come  to  some  approximate  conclusion. 

The  first  of  these  calculations  we  owe  to  M.  Morlot. 
The  torrent  of  the  Tiniere,  at  the  point  where  it  falls  into 
the  Lake  of  Geneva,  near  Villeneuvc,  has  gradually  built 
up  a  cone  of  gravel  and  alluvium.  In  the  formation  of 
the  railway  this  cone  has  been  bisected  for  a  length  of 


388  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

looo  feet,  and  to  a  depth,  in  the  central  part,  of  about 
32  feet  6  inches  above  the  level  of  the  railway.  The 
section  of  the  cone  thus  obtained  shows  a  ve^y  regular 
structure,  which  proves  that  its  formation  was  gradual. 
It  is  composed  of  the  same  materials  (sand,  gravel,  and 
large  blocks)  as  those  which  are  even  now  brought  down 
by  the  stream.  The  amount  of  detritus  does,  indeed, 
differ  considerably  from  year  to  year,  but  in  the  long-run 
the  differences  compensate  for  one  another,  so  that,  when 
considering  long  periods,  and  the  structure  of  the  whole 
mass,  the  influences  of  the  temporary  variations,  which 
arise  from  meteorological  causes,  altogether  disappear, 
and  need  not,  therefore,  be  taken  into  account.  Docu- 
ments preserved  in  the  archives  of  Villeneuve  show  that 
in  the  year  17 10  the  stream  was  dammed  up,  and  its 
course  a  little  altered,  which  makes  the  present  cone 
slightly  irregular.  That  the  change  was  not  of  any  great 
antiquity  is  also  shown  by  the  fact  that  on  the  side  where 
the  cone  was  protected  by  the  dykes,  the  vegetable  soil, 
where  it  has  been  affected  by  cultivation,  does  not  exceed 
two  or  three  inches  in  thickness.  On  the  side  thus  pro- 
tected by  the  dykes,  the  railway  cutting  has  exposed  three 
layers  of  vegetable  soil,  each  of  which  must,  at  one  time, 
have  formed  the  surface  of  the  cone.  They  are  regularly 
intercalated  among  the  gravel,  and  parallel  to  one  another, 
as  well  as  to  the  present  surface  of  the  cone,  which  itself 
follows  a  very  regular  curve.  The  first  of  these  ancient 
surfaces  was  traced  on  the  south  side  of  the  cone,  over  a 
surface  of  15,000  square  feet  :  it  had  a  thickness  of  4 
to  6  inches,  and  occurred  at  a  depth  of  about  4  feet  (1*14 
metres  measured  to  the  base  of  the  layer)  below  the 
present  surface  of  the  cone.  This  layer,  which  belonged 
to  the  Roman  period,  contained  tiles  and  a  Roman  coin. 

The  second  layer  was  traced  over  a  surface  of  25,000 
square  feet  ;  it  was  6  inches  in  thickness,  and  lay  at  a 
depth  of  about  10  feet  (2'97  metres)  including  the  thick- 
ness of  the  layer.  In  it  have  been  found  several  fragments 
of  unglazed  pottery,  and  a  pair  of  tweezers  in  bronze. 
The  third  layer  has  been  followed  for  3500  square  feet  ; 


CONE   OF   THE   TINIERE  389 

it  was  6  or  J  inches  in  thickness,  and  lay  at  a  depth  of 
19  feet  (5'69  metres)  below  the  present  surface  :  in  it 
were  found  some  fragments  of  very  rude  pottery,  some 
pieces  of  charcoal,  some  broken  bones,  and  a  human 
skeleton  with  a  small,  round,  and  very  thick  skull. 
Fragments  of  charcoal  were  even  found  a  foot  deeper, 
and  it  is  also  worthy  of  notice  that  no  trace  of  tiles  was 
found  below  the  upper  layer  of  earth. 

Towards  the  centre  of  the  cone  the  three  layers  dis- 
appear, since  at  this  part  the  torrent  has  most  force,  and 
has  deposited  the  coarsest  materials,  even  some  blocks  as 
much  as  three  feet  in  diameter.  The  farther  we  go  from 
this  central  region,  the  smaller  are  the  materials  deposited, 
and  the  more  easily  might  a  layer  of  earth,  formed  since 
the  last  great  inundations,  be  covered  over  by  fresh 
deposits.  Thus,  at  a  depth  of  ten  feet,  in  the  gravel  on 
the  south  of  the  cone,  at  a  part  where  the  layer  of  earth 
belonging  to  the  Bronze  Age  had  already  disappeared, 
two  unrolled  bronze  implements  were  discovered.  They 
had  probably  been  retained  by  their  weight,  when  the 
earth  which  once  covered  them  was  washed  away  by  the 
torrent.  After  disappearing  towards  the  centre  of  the 
cone,  the  three  layers  reappear  on  the  north  side,  at  a 
slightly  greater  depth,  but  with  the  same  regularity  and 
the  same  relative  position.  The  layer  of  the  Stone  Age  was 
but  slightly  interrupted,  while  that  of  the  Bronze  Era  was 
easily  distinguishable  by  its  peculiar  character  and  colour. 

It  must  be  confessed  that  the  starting-point  of  this 
argument,  viz.,  the  so-called  "  Roman  "  layer,  is  far  from 
being  satisfactorily  determined.  It  is  quite  possible  that 
tiles  were  used  in  Switzerland  before  the  "  Roman " 
period  ;  it  is  probable  that  they  continued  in  use  to  a 
later  period.  The  coin  found  in  the  "  Roman "  layer 
was  so  much  worn  as  to  be  undeterminable  ;  it  had, 
therefore,  probably  been  long  in  use.  M.  Uhlmann  has 
also  argued  ^  that  the  bones  found  in  the  lower  layer  are 
not  such  as  we  should  expect  to  find  in    a    Stone  Age 

'   Uebey-    Thierreste   und  Gebisstheil  gefunden   in   den   Schuttablage- 
rutigen  der  Tinilre,  Bern,  1868. 


390  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

deposit,  since  they  are  not  so  much  discoloured  as  those 
from  the  Stone  Age  Pfahlbauten,  and  all  belong  to 
domestic  animals.  Only  fourteen  determinable  fragments, 
however,  were  found,  and  of  these  several  probably 
belonged  to  a  single  individual.  Moreover,  the  condition 
of  bones  from  a  peat-moss  cannot  fairly  be  compared  with 
those  which  had  been  lying  in  a  material  such  as  that 
forming  the  cone  of  the  Tiniere. 

M.  Morlot  did  not  disguise  from  himself  that  there 
were  certain  elements  of  doubt  in  the  case,  but  on  the 
whole  it  seemed  to  him  that  the  phenomena  were  so 
regular  and  so  well  marked  that  he  was  justified  in  apply- 
ing to  them  a  calculation  with  some  little  confidence  of  at 
least  approximate  accuracy.  Making  some  allowances  ; 
for  instance,  admitting  three  hundred  years  instead  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty,  for  the  period  since  the  embankment, 
and  taking  the  Roman  period  as  representing  an  antiquity 
of  from  sixteen  to  eighteen  centuries,  he  obtains  for  the 
Age  of  Bronze  an  antiquity  of  from  2900  years  to  4200 
years,  for  that  of  the  Stone  Period  from  4700  to  7000 
years,  and  for  the  whole  cone  an  age  of  from  7400  to 
11,000  years.  M.  Morlot  thought  that  we  should  be 
most  nearly  correct  in  deducting  two  hundred  years  only 
for  the  action  of  the  dykes,  and  in  attributing  to  the 
Roman  layer  an  antiquity  of  sixteen  centuries,  that  is  to 
say,  in  referring  it  to  the  middle  of  the  third  century. 
This  would  give  an  antiquity  of  J 800  years  for  the 
Bronze  Age,  and  6400  years  for  that  of  Stone  ;  and,  on 
the  whole,  he  is  inclined  to  suppose  for  the  former  an 
antiquity  of  from  3000  to  4000  years,  and  for  the  latter 
of  from  5000  to  7000  years. 

Not  less  ingenious  is  the  attempt  which  has  been  made 
by  M.  Gillieron,^  Professor  at  the  college  of  Neuveville, 
to  obtain  a  date  for  the  lake-habitation  at  the  Pont  de 
Thiele.  This  stream  connects  the  lakes  of  Neufchatel 
and  Bienne.  During  the  first  part  of  its  course  the  valley 
is  narrow,  and  the  bridge,  close  to  which  the  lake-dwelling 

^  Notice  siir  les  Habitations  Lacustres  dti  Pofit  de  TJiiile^  Porrentruy, 
1862. 


PONT   DE   THIELE  391 

has  been  discovered,  is  situated  at  the  narrowest  spot.  A 
little  further  down  the  valley  suddenly  expands,  and  from 
this  point  remains  of  the  same  width  until  it  joins  the 
Lake  of  Bienne.  It  is  evident  that  the  valley,  as  far  as 
the  bridge  over  the  Thiele,  was  once  occupied  by  the 
lake,  which  has  gradually  been  silted  up  by  the  action  of 
forces  still  in  operation  ;  and  if  we  could  ascertain  how 
long  it  would  have  taken  to  effect  this  change,  we  should 
then  know  approximately  the  date  of  the  remains  found 
at  the  Pont  de  Thiele,  which  are  evidently  those  of  a 
lake-dwelling.  The  Abbey  of  St  Jean,  which  stands  in 
this  valley,  about  375  metres  from  the  present  shore  of 
the  lake,  was  founded,  according  to  ancient  documents, 
between  the  years  1090  and  1 106,  and  is  therefore  about 
750  years  old.  It  is  possible  that  the  abbey  may  not 
have  been  built  exactly  on  the  then  edge  of  the  lake  ;  but 
even  if  this  were  the  case,  the  gain  of  land  will  only  have 
been  375  metres  in  750  years.  Professor  GilHeron  does 
not  compare  with  this  the  whole  space  between  the 
convent  and  the  lake-dwelling,  because  in  the  narrower 
part  of  the  valley,  in  which  the  latter  is  situated,  the  gain 
may  have  been  more  rapid  ;  but  if  we  only  go  to  the 
point  at  which  the  basin  contracts,  we  shall  have  a  distance 
of  3000  metres,  which  would,  upon  these  data,  indicate 
a  minimum  antiquity  of  6750  years.  This  calculation 
assumes  that  the  shape  of  the  bottom  of  the  valley  was 
originally  uniform.  M.  Morlot  agrees  with  Professor 
Gillieron  in  believing  that  this  was  the  case,  and  from  the 
general  configuration  of  the  valley  it  seems  to  me  also  to 
be  a  reasonable  supposition.  Moreover,  the  soundings 
taken  by  M.  Hisely  in  the  Lake  of  Bienne  show  that  the 
variations  in  depth  are  but  of  slight  importance.  We 
must  not,  indeed,  attach  too  much  importance  to  these 
two  calculations  ;  but  they  appear  to  indicate  that  at  least 
6000  or  7000  years  ago  Switzerland  was  already  inhabited 
by  men  who  used  polished  stone  implements  ;  but  how 
long  they  had  been  there,  or  how  many  centuries  elapsed 
before  the  discovery  of  metal,  we  have  as  yet  no  evidence 
to  show. 


392  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

These  figures  only,  however,  give  us  a  minimum,  and 
a  much  greater  antiquity  was  obtained  by  Mr  Horner  as 
the  result  of  his  Egyptian  researches,  which  were  under- 
taken at  the  joint  expense  of  the  Royal  Society  and  the 
Egyptian  Government.  Every  year  the  Nile,  during  its 
periodical  overflow,  deposits  a  certain  amount  of  fine  mud, 
and  even  as  long  ago  as  the  time  of  Herodotus  it  was 
inferred  that  Egypt  had  been  formerly  an  arm  of  the  sea, 
filled  up  gradually  and  converted  into  dry  land  by  the 
mud  brought  down  from  the  upper  country. 

In  the  great  work  on  Egypt  which  we  owe  to  the 
French  philosophers  who  accompanied  Napoleon's  expedi- 
tion to  that  country,  an  attempt  was  made  to  estimate  the 
secular  elevation  thus  produced,  and  it  was  assumed  to  be 
five  inches  in  a  century.  This  general  average  was  con- 
sistent, however,  with  great  differences  at  different  parts, 
and  Mr  Horner,  therefore,  did  not  consider  himself 
justified  in  applying  this  estimate  to  particular  cases,  even 
if  he  had  been  satisfied  with  the  evidence  on  which  it 
rested.  He  preferred  to  examine  the  accumulation  which 
had  taken  place  round  monuments  of  known  age,  and 
selected  two — namely,  the  obelisk  at  Heliopolis  and  the 
statue  of  Rameses  II.  in  Memphis.  The  obelisk  was 
"erected  2300  years  b.c,  and  adding  1850,  the  year  when 
the  observation  was  made  (June  1851,  i.e.  before  the 
inundation  of  that  year),  we  have  4150  years  in  which  the 
eleven  feet  of  sediment  were  deposited,  which  is  at  the 
rate  of  3*18  inches  in  a  century."^  But  Mr  Horner 
himself  admits  that  "  entire  reliance  cannot  be  placed  on 
this  conclusion,  principally  because  it  is  possible  that  the 
site  originally  chosen  for  the  temple  and  city  of  Heliopolis 
was  a  portion  of  land  somewhat  raised  above  the  level  of 
the  rest  of  the  desert."  He  relies,  therefore,  principally 
on  the  evidence  supplied  by  the  colossal  statue  in  Memphis. 
In  this  case  the  present  surface  is  10  feet  6|  inches  above 
the  base  of  the  platform  on  which  the  statue  stood. 
Assuming  that  the  platform  was  sunk  14^  inches  below 
the  surface  of  the  ground  at  the  time  it  was  laid,  we  have 
'  Horner,  Phil.  Trans..,  1858,  p.  73. 


THE   FORMATION   OF   EGYPT  393 

a  depth  of  sediment  from  the  present  surface  to  that  level 
of  9  feet  4  inches.  Rameses  reigned  between  1394  and 
1328  B.C.,  which  would  give  an  antiquity  of  3215  years, 
and  consequently  a  mean  increase  of  3^  inches  in  a  century. 
Having  thus  obtained  an  approximate  measure  of  the  rate 
of  deposit  in  that  part  of  the  Nile  valley,  Mr  Horner  dug 
several  pits  to  a  considerable  depth,  and  in  one  of  them, 
close  to  the  statue  and  at  the  depth  of  39  feet,  a  piece  of 
pottery  was  found,  which  upon  the  above  data  would 
indicate  an  antiquity  of  about  13,000  years. 

In  many  other  excavations  pieces  of  pottery  and  other 
indications  of  man  were  found  at  even  greater  depths, 
but  it  must  be  confessed  that  there  are  several  reasons 
which  render  the  calculations  somewhat  doubtful.  For 
instance,  it  is  impossible  to  ascertain  how  far  the  pedestal 
of  the  statue  was  inserted  into  the  ground  ;  Mr  Horner 
has  allowed  14I  inches,  but  if  it  was  deeper,  the  rate  of 
deposition  would  be  diminished  and  the  age  increased. 
On  the  other  hand,  if  the  statue  was  on  raised  ground, 
of  course  the  reverse  would  be  the  case. 

It  has  also  been  argued  that  the  ancient  Egyptians  were 
in  the  habit  of  making  embankments  round  the  areas  on 
which  they  erected  temples,  statues,  etc.,  so  as  to  keep 
out  the  waters  of  the  Nile. 

"  Whenever,  then,"  says  Sir  Charles  Lyell,  "  the  waters 
at  length  break  into  such  depressions,  they  must  at  first 
carry  with  them  into  the  enclosure  much  mud  washed 
from  the  steep  surrounding  banks,  so  that  a  greater 
quantity  would  be  deposited  in  a  few  years  than,  perhaps, 
in  as  many  centuries  on  the  great  plain  outside  the 
depressed  area,  where  no  such  disturbing  causes  inter- 
vened." This  objection  is,  however,  untenable,  because 
the  rapidity  of  deposition  will  be  in  proportion  to  the 
previous  retardation,  and  will  only  tend  to  bring  the 
depressed  area  up  to  the  general  level.  Supposing,  for 
instance,  that  the  monument  of  Rameses,  erected  on  the 
flat  plain  of  Memphis  3200  years  ago,  was  protected  by 
embankments  for  the  first  2000  years,  and  that  during 
that  time  the  plain  outside  was  gradually  raised   5    feet 


394  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

lo  inches,  being  at  the  rate  of  3I  inches  in  a  century  : 
when  the  embankment  gave  way  the  space  enclosed  would 
soon  be  filled  up  to  the  general  level,  and  a  thickness  of 
5  feet  10  inches  might  be  deposited  in  a  few  years  :  still 
this  exceptionally  rapid  accumulation  would  only  be  the 
complement  of  the  exceptional  want  of  deposit  which  had 
preceded  it  ;  and,  consequently,  when  the  level  of  the 
surrounding  plain  had  been  attained,  then,  although  the 
mud  covering  the  base  of  the  statue  may  have  been 
altogether  deposited  in  the  last  few  hundred  years,  i.e. 
since  the  embankments  have  been  neglected,  the  thickness 
of  the  deposit  will  still  be  a  measure  of  the  general 
elevation  which  has  taken  place  on  the  surrounding  plain 
since  the  erection  of  the  monument. 

Even  if  the  embankments  had  remained  intact  to  this 
day,  and  the  monument  stood  now  in  the  hollow  thus 
produced,  Mr  Horner's  argument  would  not  be  invaH- 
dated,  but  rather  confirmed.  The  depth  of  the  hollow 
would  give  us  a  measure  of  the  deposit  which  had  taken 
place  since  the  erection  of  the  monument,  or  rather  since 
the  formation  of  the  embankment.  If,  however,  the 
monument  had  been  erected  in  an  area  already  depressed 
by  the  action  of  still  older  embankments,  the  calculation 
would  be  vitiated,  but  in  this  case  the  rate  of  deposition 
would  appear  to  be  more  than  it  really  is,  and  the  true 
age  consequently  would  be  even  greater  than  the  above 
estimate.  Much  credit  is  due  to  the  Egyptian  Govern- 
ment for  the  liberal  manner  in  which  they  assisted  Mr 
Horner  and  the  Royal  Society  in  this  investigation. 

I  have  already  mentioned  the  evidence  on  which 
M.  Morlot  has  endeavoured  to  estimate  the  age  of  the 
Cone  de  la  Tiniere,  and  which  gave  about  6000  years 
for  the  lower  layer  of  vegetable  soil,  and  10,000  years 
for  the  whole  of  the  existing  cone.  But  above  this 
existing  cone  is  another,  which  was  formed  when  the 
lake  stood  at  a  higher  level  than  at  present,  and  which 
M.  Morlot  refers  to  the  period  of  the  river-drift  gravels. 
This  drift-age  cone  is  about  twelve  times  as  large  as 
that  now  forming,  and  would  appear,  therefore,  on  the 


AGE   OF  THE   MISSISSIPPI   DELTA     395 

same  data,  to  indicate  an  antiquity  of  more  than  100,000 
years. 

In  his  Travels  in  North  America^  Sir  C.  Lyell  has  en- 
deavoured to  estimate  the  age  of  the  Mississippi  delta 
in  the  following  manner  : — "  Dr  Riddle,"  he  says,  "  com- 
municated to  me,  at  New  Orleans,  the  result  of  a  series 
of  experiments  which  he  had  made  to  ascertain  the 
proportion  of  sediment  contained  in  the  waters  of  the 
Mississippi.  He  concluded  that  the  mean  annual  amount 
of  solid  matter  was  to  the  water  as  y^s  '^^  weight,  or 
about  ^(YQ  in  volume.  Since  that  period  he  has  made 
another  series  of  experiments,  and  his  tables  show  that 
the  quantity  of  mud  held  in  suspension  increases  regularly 
with  the  increased  height  and  velocity  of  the  stream. 
On  the  whole,  comparing  the  flood  season  with  that  of 
clearest  water,  his  experiments,  continued  down  to  1849, 
give  an  average  annual  quantity  of  solid  matter  somewhat 
less  than  his  first  estimate,  but  not  varying  materially 
from  it.  From  these  observations,  and  those  of  Dr 
Carpenter  and  Mr  Forskey  (an  eminent  engineer,  to 
whom  I  have  before  alluded),  on  the  average  width, 
depth,  and  velocity  of  the  Mississippi,  the  mean  annual 
discharge  of  water  and  sediment  were  deduced.  I  then 
assumed  528  feet,  or  the  tenth  of  a  mile,  as  the  probable 
thickness  of  the  deposit  of  mud  and  sand  in  the  delta  ; 
founding  my  conjecture  chiefly  on  the  depth  of  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  between  the  southern  point  of  Florida 
and  the  Balize,  which  equals  on  an  average  one  hundred 
fathoms,  and  partly  on  some  borings  six  hundred  feet 
deep,  in  the  delta  near  Lake  Pontchartrain,  north  of 
New  Orleans,  in  which  the  bottom  of  the  alluvial  matter 
is  said  not  to  have  been  reached.  The  area  of  the 
delta  being  about  13,600  square  statute  miles,  and  the 
quantity  of  solid  matter  annually  brought  down  the  river 
3,702,758,400  cubic  feet,  it  must  have  taken  67,000 
years  for  the  formation  of  the  whole  ;  and  if  the 
alluvial  matter  of  the  plain  above  be  264  feet  deep,  or 
half  that  of  the  delta,  it  must  have  required  33,500  more 
years  for  its  accumulation,  even  if  its  area  be  estimated 


396  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

only  as  equal  to  that  of  the  delta,  whereas  it  is,  in  fact, 
larger." 

Moreover,  as  Sir  Charles  has  himself  pointed  out,  a 
very  large  proportion  of  the  mud  brought  down  by  the 
river  is  not  deposited  in  the  delta,  but  is  carried  out 
into  the  gulf.  In  the  Antiquity  of  Man''-  he  refers  to 
the  above-given  calculation,  and  admits  that  the  discharge 
of  water  seems  to  have  been  much  underrated  by  the 
earlier  experiments.  Messrs  Humphrey  and  Abbot,  who 
have  recently  surveyed  the  delta,  also  remark  that  "  the 
river  pushes  along  its  bottom  into  the  gulf  a  certain 
quantity  of  sand  and  gravel,  which  would,"  they  suppose, 
"  augment  the  volume  of  solid  matter  by  about  one- 
tenth."  This,  of  course,  would  greatly  diminish  the  time 
required  ;  but,  taking  into  consideration  the  quantity  of 
mud  which  is  carried  out  to  sea,  and  which  was  not 
allowed  for  in  the  previous  calculation.  Sir  Charles  Lyell 
still  regards  100,000  years  as  a  moderate  estimate  ;  and 
he  considers  that  "  the  alluvium  of  the  Somme  containing 
flint  implements  and  the  remains  of  the  mammoth  and 
hyaena,"  is  not  less  ancient. 

Attempts  have  also  been  made  to  calculate  the  time 
required  to  excavate  the  ravine  between  the  present 
Niagara  Falls  and  Queenstown,  which  has  been  estimated 
at  about  35,000  years  ;  ^  others,  however,  make  it 
much  less. 

Again,  whatever  cause  or  causes  may  have  produced 
the  great  change  which  has  taken  place  in  the  climate 
of  Western  Europe,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  this 
change  indicates  a  very  considerable  lapse  of  time.  We 
are  indebted  to  Mr  Hopkins  for  a  very  interesting 
memoir  on  this  subject.  Among  the  possible  causes  of 
change  he  discusses — 

Firstly.   A  variation  in  the  intensity  of  solar  radiation. 

To  this  theory  Mr  Hopkins  sees  no  a  priori  objection  ; 
but  he  does  not  feel  disposed  to  attach  much  weight  to 

^  Appendix  to  third  edition,  p.  16.     See  also  Geological  Journal,  1869, 

vol.  XXV.   p.    II. 

2  Geikie,  Phys.  Geog.,  p.  280. 


CHANGE   OF   CLIMATE  397 

it,  because  it  is  "  a  mere  hypothesis  framed  to  account 
for  a  single  and  limited  class  of  facts,  and  unsupported 
by  the  testimony  of  any  other  class  of  allied  but 
independent  phenomena." 

It  is,  moreover,  open  to  the  objections  stated  with  great 
force  by  Professor  Tyndall,^  who  argues  that  the  ancient 
glaciers  indicate  the  action  of  heat  as  much  as  of  cold. 
"  Cold,"  he  says,  "  will  not  produce  glaciers.  You  may 
have  the  bitterest  north-east  winds  here  in  London 
throughout  the  winter,  without  a  single  flake  of  snow. 
Cold  must  have  the  fitting  object  to  operate  upon,  and 
this  object — the  aqueous  vapour  of  the  air — is  the  direct 
product  of  heat.  Let  us  put  this  glacier  question  in 
another  form  :  the  latent  heat  of  aqueous  vapour,  at  the 
temperature  of  its  production  in  the  tropics,  is  about 
1000°  Fahr.,  for  the  latent  heat  augments  as  the  tempera- 
ture of  evaporation  descends.  A  pound  of  water  thus 
vaporized  at  the  equator,  has  absorbed  one  thousand  times 
the  quantity  of  heat  which  would  raise  a  pound  of  the 
liquid  one  degree  in  temperature.  ...  It  is  perfectly 
manifest  that  by  weakening  the  sun's  action,  either  through 
a  defect  of  emission,  or  by  the  steeping  of  the  entire  solar 
system  in  space  of  a  low  temperature,  we  should  be  cutting 
off  the  glaciers  at  their  source." 

Secondly.  Admitting  the  proper  motion  of  the  sun,  it 
has  been  suggested  that  we  may  have  recently  passed  from 
a  colder  into  a  warmer  region  of  space. 

I  must  refer  to  Mr  Hopkins'  memoir  for  his  objections 
to  this  suggestion  ;  they  certainly  appear  to  "render  the 
theory  utterly  inapplicable  to  the  explanation  of  the 
changes  of  temperature  at  the  more  recent  geological 
epochs." 

This  hypothesis,  moreover,  is  liable  to  the  same  fatal 
objection  as  the  first.  To  produce  snow  requires  both 
heat  and  cold  ;  the  first  to  evaporate,  the  second  to  con- 
dense. In  fact,  what  we  require  is  a  greater  contrast 
between  the  temperature  of  the  tropics  and  that  of  our 
latitudes  ;    so    that,    paradoxical    as    it    may   appear,  the 

'  Heat  considered  as  a  Mode  of  Motion^  p.  192. 


398  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

primary  cause  of  the  "glacial"  epoch  may  be,  after  all, 
an  elevation  of  temperature  in  the  tropics,  causing  a 
greater  amount  of  evaporation  in  the  equatorial  regions, 
and  consequently  a  greater  supply  of  the  raw  material 
of  snow  in  the  temperate  regions  during  the  winter 
months. 

Thirdly.  An  alteration  in  the  earth's  axis. 

The  possibility  of  such  a  change  has  been  denied  by 
many  astronomers.  My  father,  the  late  Sir  J.  W. 
Lubbock,  has,  on  the  contrary,  maintained  ^  that  this 
would  necessarily  follow  from  upheavals  and  depressions 
of  the  earth's  surface  if  only  they  were  of  sufficient 
magnitude.  The  same  view  has  recently  been  taken  by 
other  mathematicians,  and  among  geologists  by  Dr  Duncan 
and  M.  Carret.  Sir  John  Evans  has  made  the  ingenious 
suggestion  that  the  solid  external  crust  of  the  earth  may 
have  slid  over  its  fluid  or  semi-fluid  nucleus.  On  the 
other  hand.  Sir  George  Darwin,  who  has  recently  dealt 
with  the  subject,^  concludes  that,  while  theoretically  such 
a  change  may  have  taken  place,  the  amount  could  not  have 
been  sufficient  to  cause  any  considerable  change  of  climate 
in  a  recent  geological  period.  The  subject  is  one  of 
extreme  difficulty  ;  but  it  is  at  any  rate  clear  that  this 
suggestion,  like  the  preceding,  presupposes  immense 
geographical  changes,  which  would  therefore  necessarily 
imply  an  enormous  lapse  of  time. 

Fourthly.  Mr  Hopkins  inclines  to  find  the  true  solution 
of  the  difficulty  in  the  supposition  that  the  Gulf  Stream 
did  not  at  this  period  warm  the  shores  of  Europe.  "  A 
depression  of  2000  feet  would,"  he  says,  "  convert  the 
Mississippi  into  a  great  arm  of  the  sea,  of  which  the 
present  Gulf  of  Mexico  would  form  the  southern  ex- 
tremity, and  which  would  communicate  at  its  northern 
extremity  with  the  waters  occupying  the  .  .  .  great 
valley  now  occupied  by  the  chain  of  lakes."  In  this  case 
the  Gulf  Stream  would  no  longer  be  deflected  by  the 
American  coasts,  but  would  pass  directly  up  this  channel 
into  the  Arctic  Sea  ;  and  as  a  very  great  ocean  current 

^  Geol.Journ.,  vol.  v.  p.  4.  ^  pkil.  Trans.^  vol.  clxvii. 


CHANGE   IN   GULF   STREAM  399 

must  have  its  counter  current,  it  is  probable  that  there 
would  be  a  flow  of  cold  water  from  the  North  between 
the  coasts  of  Norway  and  Greenland.  The  absence  of  the 
Gulf  Stream  would  probably  lower  the  January  tempera- 
ture of  Western  Europe  ten  degrees,  while  the  presence 
of  a  cold  current  from  the  North  might  make  a  further 
difference  of  about  three  or  four  degrees  ^ — an  alteration 
of  the  climate  which  would  apparently  be  sufficient  to 
account  for  all  the  phenomena.  This  theory  Mr  Hopkins 
considers  as  no  mere  hypothesis,  but  as  necessarily 
following  from  the  submergence  of  North  America, 
which  has  been  inferred  from  evidence  of  a  different 
nature. 

In  this  case,  of  course,  the  periods  of  great  cold  in 
Europe  and  in  America  must  have  been  successive,  and 
not  synchronous  ;  and  it  may  also  be  observed  that  in 
this  suggested  deflection  of  the  Gulf  Stream,  Mr  Hopkins 
was  contemplating  a  period  anterior  to  that  of  the  present 
rivers.  For  if  we  are  to  adopt  this  solution  of  the  diffi- 
culty, an  immense  time  would  be  required.  If,  when  the 
gravels  and  loess  of  the  Somme  and  the  Seine  were  being 
deposited,  the  Gulf  Stream  was  passing  up  what  is  now 
the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  then  it  follows  that  the 
formation  of  the  loess  in  the  valley  and  its  delta — an 
accumulation  which  Sir  C.  Lyell  has  shown  to  require  a 
period  of  about  100,000  years — would  be  subsequent  to 
the  excavation  of  the  Somme  valley,  and  to  the  presence 
of  man  in  Western  Europe. 

The  deflection  of  the  Gulf  Stream  from  our  coasts 
might,  however,  be  owing  to  another  cause,  namely,  a 
subsidence  of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama;  in  support  of 
which  suggestion  may  be  mentioned  the  remarkable 
fact  recently  observed  by  Dr  Giinther,  that  out  of  173 
tropical  marine  fish,  no  less  than  57,  or  30  per  cent., 
occur  on  both  sides  of  the  isthmus — in  both  the  Atlantic 
and  the  Pacific.'^ 

Mr  Croll  has  pointed  out  that  at  present  the  "  S.E. 
trade  winds  of  the  Atlantic  blow  with  greater  force  than 

'  Hopkins,  loc.  cit.,  p.  85.  ^  Trans.  Zool.  Soc,  vol.  vi.  p.  397. 


400  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

the  N.E.  trades,  and  the  consequence  is  that  the  S.E. 
trades  sometimes  extend  to  io°  or  15°  N.  lat.,  whereas 
the  N.E.  trades  seldom  blow  south  of  the  equator.  But 
during  the  glacial  epoch  the  very  reverse  must  have 
occurred.  Hence  the  great  equatorial  current  of  the 
Atlantic  must  during  that  period  have  been  driven  con- 
siderably south  of  its  present  position."  ^  Even  at  present, 
while  the  greater  part  of  the  water  enters  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  one  portion  is  deflected  southwards,  which  in  the 
case  mentioned  above  would  happen  to  the  greater 
portion,  if  not  the  whole. 

Under  existing  circumstances,  the  southern  division  is 
comparatively  small  ;  by  far  the  larger  portion  of  the 
great  equatorial  current  turns  northwards,  and  warms  the 
northern  hemisphere,  so  that  the  comparatively  high 
temperature  of  the  Northern  Atlantic  is  in  some  measure 
due  to  heat  derived  from  the  southern  hemisphere.  In 
a  subsequent  memoir,^  Mr  Croll  has  made  some  interest- 
ing calculations  with  reference  to  the  great  effect  produced 
by  the  Gulf  Stream  on  the  present  climate  of  Europe. 
He  estimates  that  it  conveys  as  much  heat  as  is  received 
from  the  sun  by  3,121,870  square  miles  of  the  equator  : 
nearly  as  much  as  is  received  from  the  sun  by  the  entire 
Arctic  regions,  the  proportions  being  as  15  to  18.  Our 
present  climate  is  12°  higher  than  the  normal  due  to  its 
latitude,  but  Mr  Croll  points  out  that  this  is  by  no  means 
to  be  considered  as  measuring  the  effect  of  the  Gulf  Stream. 
The  temperature  of  the  whole  hemisphere  is  raised  by 
the  equatorial  currents,  and  the  12°  "only  represent  the 
number  of  degrees  that  the  mean  normal  temperature  of 
our  island  stands  above  what  is  called  the  normal  tempera- 
ture of  the  latitude." 

Professor  Spencer  has  recently  given  some  reasons  for 
believing  in  the  existence  of  an  Antillean  continent  at  a 
recent  geological  period.  This  would  have  affected  our 
climate  considerably.  It  would  not  indeed  necessarily 
have  directed  the  Gulf  Stream  from  our  shores  ;  but  as 

^  CroW,  Philosophical  Magazine^  Pi^ug.  1864. 
-  Loc.  cit.,  Feb.  and  Oct.  1870. 


EFFECT   OF   OCEAN   CURRENTS        401 

the  water  could  not  have  made  its  long  journey  round 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  it  could  not  have  been  so  long 
exposed  to  a  tropical  sun,  and  could  not  have  attained  so 
high  a  temperature. 

There  is  yet  another  cause  to  which  the  present  mild 
temperature  of  Europe  is  partly  due,  and  which  must 
not  be  altogether  neglected.  At  the  period  under  con- 
sideration, indeed,  the  geography  of  Western  Europe 
must  have  been  very  nearly  what  it  is  now.  There  is, 
however,  good  reason  for  considering  that  the  Desert  of 
Sahara  then  formed  part  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  Mr 
Tristram  has  called  attention  to  cliffs,  ancient  sea-beaches, 
and  lines  of  terraces  along  the  northern  margin  of  the 
desert,  and  the  common  cockle  is  still  found  living  in 
some  of  the  salt  lakes.  Mr  Tristram  also  discovered  a 
species  of  Haligenes^  which  inhabits  the  Gulf  of  Guinea, 
in  a  salt  lake  in  lat.  32°  N.  and  long.  7°  E.,  separated, 
therefore,  from  its  present  marine  habitat  by  the  whole 
extent  of  the  great  Desert.  Moreover,  as  we  have  already 
seen,  the  present  geographical  distribution  of  animals  can 
only  be  explained  on  the  hypothesis  that  the  existing 
fauna,  including  man,  occupied  Africa  long  before  the 
Sahara  became  dry  land. 

Mr  Croll  has  shown  in  the  memoir  already  cited,  that 
currents  of  warm  water  produce  a  far  greater  effect  upon 
climate  than  aerial  currents  of  equal  volume  and  tem- 
perature ;  yet  it  is  evident  that  such  a  change  would 
have  a  great  effect  on  the  climate  of  Europe.  At  present 
we  receive  from  the  South  hot  dry  winds,  which  warm 
us  both  directly  and  also  indirectly  by  melting  the  snow 
and  ice  on  our  mountain-tops.  If  the  Sahara  was  a  sea, 
the  "  Fohn,"  instead  of  being  a  burning,  dry  wind,  which 
strips  the  snow  off  the  Alps,  both  by  melting  and  evapora- 
tion, would  be  a  moist,  damp  wind,  and  when  it  reached 
the  mountains  would  produce  dense  clouds  and  thick 
fogs,  which  would  prevent  the  sun's  rays  from  warming 
the  earth  or  melting  the  glaciers.  So  that  to  the  barren 
desert  of  the  Sahara,  which  we  are  apt  to  look  upon  as  a 
useless  waste,  we  are  in  reality  much   indebted    for    the 

26 


402  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

fertility  and  civilization  of  Europe.  It  is  true  that  the 
effect  of  a  water  area  in  the  Sahara  would  not  be  so  great 
as  might  at  first  sight  be  supposed,  because  the  prevalent 
winds  would  carry  the  moisture  mainly  to  Eastern  Europe 
and  Western  Asia.  If,  however,  these  regions  thus  be- 
came damper,  our  east  winds  would  be  less  dry  and  cold 
than  is  now  the  case. 

M.  Adhemar^  has  suggested  a  mode  of  accounting  for 
the  cold  of  the  glacial  epoch,  which,  if  the  true  one,  would 
give  us  means  of  calculating  its  antiquity.  If  the  plane 
of  the  equator  coincided  exactly  with  that  of  the  ecliptic, 
i.e.  with  that  of  the  earth's  orbit,  then  it  is  evident  that 
every  day  would  be  followed  by  a  night  of  equal  length. 
In  consequence,  however,  of  the  obliquity  of  the  ecliptic, 
there  are  only  two  days  in  the  year  when  this  is  actually 
the  case,  namely,  the  20th  of  March  and  the  23rd 
September.  Thus  our  year  is  divided  into  four  well- 
marked  periods.  "  Winter  "  begins  on  the  22nd  Decem- 
ber, which  is  the  shortest  day  of  the  year,  and  continues 
until  the  20th  March,  which  is  called  the  spring 
equinox,  because  on  it  the  day  and  night  are  of 
equal  lengths.  "  Spring "  commences  on  the  20th 
March  and  continues  till  the  21st  June,  during  which 
time  the  days  continue  to  elongate  at  the  expense  of 
the  night. 

From  the  21st  June,  however,  which  is  the  first  day 
of  "  Summer,"  the  days  begin  to  shorten,  until,  on  the 
23rd  of  September,  day  and  night  are  again  equal,  and  we 
have  the  autumn  equinox. 

Autumn  commences  on  the  23rd  September,  and  the 
days  continue  to  diminish  till  the  22nd  December,  which 
is  the  shortest  day,  and  after  which  they  begin  to 
lengthen. 

At  present,  then,  the  northern  hemisphere  enjoys  in 
each  year  seven  days  more  of  spring  and  summer  than 
of  autumn  and  winter  ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
southern  hemisphere  has  seven  days  more  of  autumn 
and  winter  than  of  spring  and  summer.  This  inequality 
'  Revolutions  dc  la  Mer,  J.  Adhemar,  Paris. 


ASTRONOMICAL   EVIDENCE  403 

of  the  seasons  is  due  to  the  greater  rapiciity  with  which 
the  earth  moves  when  it  is  in  perihelion,  or  nearest  the 
sun,  as  is  the  case  on  the  31st  December. 

The  perihelion  has  not  always  been,  nor  will  it  always 
continue  to  be,  at  the  same  time  of  year  as  at  present. 
On  the  contrary,  a  constant  though  slow  movement  is 
continually  taking  place  :  the  time  of  perihelion  takes 
place  in  each  year  a  little  later  than  the  preceding,  so  that 
perihelion,  which  now  happens  on  the  31st  December, 
will  in  the  lapse  of  time  fall  on  the  ist  of  January,  then 
on  the  2nd,  and  so  on.  The  interval  between  the  times 
at  which  perihelion  occurs  on  the  same  day  of  the  year  is 
about  21,000  years.  At  some  future  day,  about  5000 
years  hence,  the  perihelion  will  occur  on  the  20th  March, 
and  in  about  21,000  years  it  will  again  be  on  the  31st 
December.  The  aphelion  changes  of  course  in  the  same 
way,  and  consequently  the  northern  and  southern  hemi- 
spheres alternately  enjoy  a  preponderance  of  summer. 
The  year  1248  a.d.  was  that  in  which  the  first  day  of 
winter  corresponded  with  the  passage  of  the  earth  into 
perihelion,  and  consequently  was  the  period  when  the 
balance  of  summer  in  favour  of  the  northern  hemisphere 
was  greatest.  Up  to  that  date  the  duration  of  summer 
was  increasing  ;  it  is  now,  and  has  been  for  six  hundred 
and  thirty  years,  gradually  diminishing. 

Astronomers  have  not,  however,  generally  considered 
that  these  changes,  or  even  those  which  affect  the  excen- 
tricity  of  our  orbit,  would  produce  any  material  difference 
between  the  climates  of  the  two  hemispheres,  because, 
whatever  the  excentricity  of  our  orbit  may  be,  the  two 
hemispheres  must  receive  exactly  the  same  amounts  of 
heat,  "  the  proximity  of  the  sun  in  perigee,  or  its  distance 
in  apogee,  exactly  compensating  the  effect  of  its  swifter 
or  slower  motion  "  ;  in  other  words,  the  southern  hemi- 
sphere has  a  shorter  summer  than  ours  because  it  is 
nearer  the  sun,  and  for  the  same  reason  it  receives  in  a 
given  time  more  heat,  so  that  the  two  differences  neutralize 
one  another. 

M.  Adhemar  points  out  that  the   temperature  of  each 


404  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

hemisphere  does  not  depend  on  the  quantity  of  heat 
received  from  the  sun,  but  on  the  difference  between  the 
amount  received  and  the  amount  radiated  away  into 
space  ;  in  other  words,  on  the  quantity  retained.  If,  he 
says,  in  illustration,  you  burn  a  given  quantity  of  wood 
in  two  identical  rooms,  and  then  open  the  windows  in  one 
and  not  in  the  other,  you  will  soon  have  a  difference  of 
temperature,  though  the  supply  of  the  heat  has  been  the 
same  in  both.-^ 

Now,  our  northern  hemisphere  has  186x24  =  4464 
hours  of  day  in  the  year,  and  179  x  24  =  4296  hours  of 
night,  while  the  southern  hemisphere  has  4464  hours  of 
night,  and  only  4296  of  day.  We  may  admit  that  the 
southern  hemisphere  will  receive  as  much  heat  from  the 
sun  in  its  4296  hours  of  day  as  we  do  in  our  4464  ;  but 
it  is  evident  that  it  will  retain  less,  because  it  will  have 
168  hours  more  of  night,  during  which  radiation  will 
be  going  on.  Though,  therefore,  the  heat  received  by 
the  two  hemispheres  will  be  equal,  the  temperature  of 
the  two  will  not,  M.  Adhemar  maintains,  be  by  any 
means  the  same  ;  and  though  at  first  this  difference 
may  be  slight,  it  will  in  its  nature  be  to  a  certain  extent 
cumulative. 

Mr  Croll,  however,  was  of  opinion  that  this  difference 
can,  after  all,  produce  little  or  no  effect  on  climate. 
However  this  may  be,  it  is  evident  that,  on  account  of 
the  much  greater  accumulation  of  ice,  the  southern 
hemisphere  is  colder  than  the  northern  ;  and  it  is  also 
clear  that  this  very  fact  tends  to  aggravate  the  difference 
to  which  it  is  due. 

Moreover,  M.  Adhemar  affirms  that  the  immense 
cupola  of  ice  which  is  known  to  exist  round  the  South 
Pole  must  affect  the  centre  of  gravity  of  the  earth,  and 
consequently  attract  the  ocean  southwards.  In  this 
manner,  indeed,  he  attempts  to  explain  the  remarkable 
preponderance  of  land  in  the  north,  and  of  sea  in  the 
southern  hemisphere.  A  glance  at  the  map  will  show 
this  difference,  but  the  following  table  makes  it  more 
^  Revolictions  de  la  Mer^  p.  344. 


CUPOLA   OF    ICE   AT   SOUTH   POLE    405 

apparent.     Taking  each  parallel  as  unity,  the  proportion 
of  sea  is  as  follows  : — 


60°  North  . 

o'353 

15°  South. 

.     0-786 

50°     „        . 

0-407 

20°     „       . 

•     0777 

40°     „        . 

0-527 

30°     „       . 

.     0-791 

30°     „        . 

0-536 

40°     „       . 

•     0-951 

20°     „        . 

0-677 

50°     „       . 

.     0-972 

10°     „        . 

0-710 

60°     „       . 

I  -000 

0°     „        . 

0-771 

Certainly  a  progressive  increase  of  sea,  which  is  so 
remarkably  regular,  can  hardly  be  the  result  of  accident.^ 

M.  Adhemar  maintains  that  this  is  due  to  the  altera- 
tion of  the  centre  of  gravity  of  the  earth,  caused  by  the 
great  southern  cupola  of  ice  ;  and  consequently  that 
11,120  years  ago  (i.e.  10,500  years  before  1248),  when 
the  northern  hemisphere  was  at  its  coldest,  the  northern 
glacier  consequently  at  its  maximum,  and  the  southern  at 
its  minimum,  the  preponderance  of  water  would  have 
been  in  the  northern  hemisphere,  and  the  submersion  of 
the  lower  lands  of  Europe  and  America  may  have  been 
due  to  an  alteration,  not  in  the  level  of  the  land,  but  in 
that  of  the  sea.  He  conceives  that  when  the  increasing 
cupola  counterbalances  the  decreasing  one,  there  is  a 
sudden  transfer  of  the  centre  of  gravity  of  the  earth  from 
one  side  of  the  centre  of  the  solid  part  to  the  other,  and 
consequently  a  rush  of  water,  or  deluge,  alternately  from 
north  to  south  and  from  south  to  north,  occurring  every 
10,500  years.  It  seems  to  me,  however,  that  the  alterations 
of  the  ice  cupolas  would  be  too  slow,  and  consequently  the 
change  in  the  centre  of  gravity  too  gradual,  to  cause  any 
sudden  rush  or  deluge  of  water  from  one  pole  to  the  other. 

According  to  this  theory,  the  year  1248  was  that  in 
which  our  northern  hemisphere  was  at  its  period  of 
greatest  heat,  the  southern  at  that  of  greatest  cold  ;  and 
as  630  years  have  since  elapsed,  we  might  expect  to  find 
some  evidence  of  subsequent  change. 

'  I  have  elsewhere  {Nature,  1887,  and  Journal  Geoi^r.  Society,  1895) 
attempted  10  show  that  this  may  explain  the  remarkable  predominance  of 
land  pointing|southwards. 


4o6  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

As  regards  the  southern  hemisphere,  M.  Adhemar 
points  out  that  the  great  southern  glacier  has  considerably 
retreated  since  the  time  of  Captain  Cook,  but  it  is  in  the 
northern  hemisphere  that  he  finds  the  greatest  evidence  of 
alteration.  He  dwells  much  on  the  increase,  during  the 
last  few  centuries,  of  the  ice  in  Greenland,  and  points  out 
that  the  cultivation  of  the  vine  does  not  now  extend  so 
far  northwards  as  was  once  the  case.  M.  Adhemar,  then, 
considers  that  the  last  epoch  of  greatest  cold  must  have 
been  11,120  years  ago,  since  which  time  the  climate  of 
our  hemisphere  gradually  improved  up  to  the  year  1248, 
when  it  was  most  genial,  and  after  which  it  has,  in  his 
opinion,  gradually  commenced  again  to  deteriorate.  Sir 
Charles  Lyell,^  however,  does  not  think  that  this  change, 
"  which  could  hardly  produce  more  than  a  difference  of 
half  a  degree  Fahrenheit  between  the  cold  of  the  present 
winter  and  that  of  1248,  would  be  appreciable."  He 
considered  that  the  whole  effect  which  can  be  produced 
by  secular  astronomical  changes  must  "  always  be  very 
subordinate  to  the  influence  of  geographical  conditions." " 

Sir  John  Herschel  ^  also  "  was  very  far  from  supposing 
it  competent  "  to  account  for  so  great  an  alteration.  More- 
over, it  is  remarkable  as  showing  how  far  we  are  from 
possessing  the  data  necessary  for  any  satisfactory  conclu- 
sions, that  while,  as  we  have  seen,  M.  Adhemar  regards 
the  enormous  cupola  of  ice  at  the  South  Pole  as  the 
reason  for  the  almost  entire  absence  of  land  at  that  pole. 
Sir  C.  Lyell,  on  the  other  hand,  states  as  a  fact  that  the 
chief  cause  of  the  intense  cold  of  high  southern  latitudes  is 
"  the  vast  height  and  extent  of  the  Antarctic  continent," 
the  very  existence  of  which  is  denied  by,  and  is  indeed 
incompatible  with,  the  theory  of  M.  Adhemar,  while  it  is 
necessary  to  that  of  Sir  C.  Lyell. 

Although,  then,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  astro- 
nomical changes  would,  to  a  certain  extent,  affect  our 
climate  in  the  manner  indicated  by  M.  Adhemar,  those 
best  qualified  to  form  an  opinion  do  not  consider  that  the 

'  Principles  0/  Geology^  1867,  vol.  i.  p.  278.         -  Ibid.,  vol.  i.  p  243. 
^  Outlines  of  Ast7-onomy,  1858,  p.  235. 


PROBABLE  EFFECT  OF  PRECESSION  407 

cause  assigned  by  him  would  by  itself  be  sufficient  to 
account  for  changes  so  great  as  those  which  have  taken 
place.  The  effect  produced  increases,  however,  with  the 
excentricity  of  the  earth's  orbit.  The  form  of  this  orbit 
is  always  altering  ;  as  it  approaches  to  a  circle,  the  effect 
produced  by  precession  and  change  of  position  of  peri- 
helion diminishes,  while  on  the  other  hand  it  increases  as 
the  orbit  elongates.  At  present  the  excentricity  of  our 
orbit  is  only  o*oi68 — that  is  to  say,  the  orbit  is  nearly 
circular  ;  but  there  have  been  periods  when  it  was  much 
more  elongated,  and  when  consequently  the  extremes  of 
temperature  dependent  on  precession  and  the  position  of 
perihelion  must  also  have  been  much  greater. 

Mr  Croll  and  Mr  Stone  have  calculated  the  excentricity 
for  the  last  million  years,  and  Mr  John  Carrick  Moore 
has  worked  out  the  effect  upon  our  climate,  assuming 
other  things  to  remain  unchanged,  in  the  four  last 
columns  of  the  following  table,  which  is  given  by  Sir  C. 
Lyell  in  the  last  edition  of  the  Principles  of  Geology} 

Mr  Croll  ^  does  not  indeed  consider  that  an  increase  in 
the  excentricity  would  directly  alter  the  relative  tempera- 
ture of  the  two  hemispheres,  though  it  would  bring 
about  a  condition  of  things  that  would  have  this  effect. 
The  mid-winter  temperature  of  one  hemisphere  would  be 
greatly  lowered,  the  consequence  of  which  would  be 
that  all  the  moisture  would  take  the  form  of  snow  instead 
of  rain,  which  would  be  the  more  important  because  the 
winter  would  be  longer.  The  heat  of  the  summer  would 
be  insufficient  to  melt  the  snow,  which  consequently 
would  accumulate  year  by  year.  On  the  opposite 
hemisphere  the  reverse  would  be  the  case,  and  com- 
paratively little  snow  would  fall.  The  difference  of 
temperature  thus  produced  would  cause  the  aerial 
currents,  and  especially  the  trade  winds  on  the  colder 
hemisphere,  to  be  much  stronger  than  those  on  the  other  ; 

1  Loc.  cit.^  vol.  i.  p.  293. 

2  Climate  and  Titne^  p.  228.  See  also  Sir  R.  Ball,  The  Cause  of  an  Ice 
Age.  I  ouglit  to  add  that  the  argument  has  been  disputed — as,  for  instance, 
by  Mr  Culverwell — but  not  I  think  disproved. 


4o8 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


they  would,  therefore,  blow  across  the  equator,  and,  by 
impelling  the  equatorial  waters  towards  the  hemisphere 
which  was  already  the  warmer  of  the  two,  would  raise  its 
temperature  still  further. 

Table  showing  the  Variations  in  the  Excentricity  of  the  Earth's 
Orbit  for  a  Million  Years  before  a.d.  1800,  and  some  of  the 
Climatal  Effects  of  such  Variations. 


I 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

Number 

of  years 

before 

A.D.  1800. 

Excen- 
tricity of 
orbit. 

Difference 

of  distance 

in  millions 

of  miles. 

Number 

of  winter 

days  in 

excess. 

Mean  of 
hottest 
month 
in  lat.  of 
London. 

13*  F. 

Mean  of 

coldest 

month 

in  lat.  of 

London. 

1,000,000 

•0151 

2| 

TZ 

21°  F. 

D 

950,000 

•0517 

9i 

25-1 

109° 

3° 

900,000 

•0102 

a 

4-9 

80° 

23° 

(a 

850,000 

•0747 

n\ 

36-4 

126° 

7° 

C     \  b 

800,000 

•0132 

2| 

6-4 

82° 

22° 

\c 

750,000 

■0575 

\o\ 

27-8 

"3° 

o''6 

700,000 

•0220 

4 

IO'2 

87° 

17° 

650,000 

"0226 

4 

II 

88° 

16° 

600,000 

•0417 

74 

20-3 

ioi°9 

7°9 

550,000 

•0166 

3 

8 

84° 

20° 

500,000 

■0388 

7 

i8-S 

99° 

9° 

450,000 

•0308 

5i 

15 

94° 

13° 

400,000 

■0170 

3 

8-2 

84° 

20° 

350,000 

•0195 

3i 

9-5 

86° 

18° 

300,000 

•0424 

71 

20  "6 

102° 

7° 

250,000 

•0258 

4i 

12-5 

99° 

15° 

210,000 

•0575 

\o\ 

278 

"3° 

o°7 

200,000 

•0567 

loi 

277 

"3° 

i°9 

150,000 

•0332 

6 

i6-i 

95 

12° 

A 

100,000 

•0473 

8i 

23 

105° 

5° 

50,000 

•01 3 1 

2i 

6-3 

82° 

22° 

0 

•0168 

3 

8-1 

84° 

20° 

EXPLANATION   OF  THE   TABLE. 

Column  i. — Division  of  a  million  years  preceding  1800  into  twenty  equal  parts. 

Column  2. — Computed  by  Mr  James  Croll,  by  aid  of  Leverrier's  formula, 
gives  the  excentricity  of  the  earth's  orbit,  in  parts  of  a  unit  equal  to  the  mean 
distance,  or  half  the  longer  diameter  of  the  ellipse. 

Column  3. — Which,  together  with  the  three  following  columns,  has  been 
computed  by  Mr  John  Carrick  Moore,  gives  in  millions  of  miles  the  difference 
between  the  greatest  and  least  distances  of  the  earth  from  the  sun,  during  the 
excentricities  given  in  Column  2. 

Column  4. — Gives  the  number  of  days  by  which  winter,  occurring  in  aphelion, 
is  longer  than  the  summer  in  perihelion. 

Column  5. — Gives  the  mean  temperature  of  the  hottest  summer  month  in  the 
latitude  of  London  when  the  summer  occurs  in  perihelion. 

Column  6. — Gives  the  mean  temperature  of  the  coldest  winter  month  in  the 
latitude  of  London  when  the  winter  occurs  in  aphelion. 


DATE   FOR   THE   GLACIAL   EPOCH     409 

The  table  shows  that  there  are  four  periods,  marked 
A,  B,  C,  and  D,  in  which  there  has  been  a  large  excen- 
tricity  and  an  extreme  climate.  The  periods  marked  A 
and  B,  says  Sir  Charles  Lyell,  "  would  not,  I  conceive,  be 
sufficiently  distant  from  our  era  to  afford  time  for  that 
series  of  glacial  and  post-glacial  events  which  we  can 
prove  to  have  happened  since  the  epoch  of  the  greatest 
cold.  These  events  relate  to  changes  in  the  level  of  the 
land  in  opposite  directions,  as  well  as  the  excavation  of 
valleys,  and  variations  in  the  range  and  distribution  of 
aquatic  and  terrestrial  animals,  all  of  which  take  place  at 
so  slow  a  rate  that  200,000  years  would  not  be  sufficient  to 
allow  of  the  series  of  changes  with  which  we  are  acquainted. 
I  cannot  but  think,  therefore,  that  if  the  date  of  the  most 
intense  glacial  cold  can  be  arrived  at  by  aid  of  a  very 
large  excentricity,  it  would  be  a  more  probable  conjecture 
to  assign  C  than  B  as  the  period  in  question  ;  in  other 
words,  to  regard  the  glacial  epoch  as  representing  a 
period  800,000  years  ago." 

In  differing  from  such  a  great  authority  as  Sir  C. 
Lyell,  I  do  so  with  great  diffidence,  but  I  confess  that  I 
should  be  disposed  rather  to  assign  the  glacial  era  to  the 
periods  A  and  B,  than  to  either  C  or  D.^ 

It  seems  to  me  unlikely  that  the  present  fauna  of 
Europe  should  have  continued  to  exist,  almost  without 
alteration,  for  so  long  a  period  as  800,000  years,  and  the 
"  variations  in  the  range  and  distribution  of  aquatic  and 
terrestrial  animals,"  might,  I  think,  have  occurred  in 
even  less  than  200,000  years  under  the  great  changes  in 
climate  which  have  taken  place. 

Professor  Heim  has  made  an  interesting  calculation  as 
to  the  annual  denudation  in  the  Reuss  valley.  He 
estimates  the  yearly  rainfall  in  the  area  drained  by  that 
river  at  1,070,000,000  cubic  metres,  and  the  outflow  of 
the  river  into  the  Lake  of  Lucerne  at  750,000,000.  The 
daily  discharge  of  sand  he  calculates  as  about  150,000 
cubic  metres,  to  which  he  adds  a  quarter  for  finely  divided 
matter.     This  would  be  equal  to   about    1000   wa"-£ron- 

'  Mr  CroU  has  also  expressed  this  opinion,  Phil.  Afag.,  1868,  p.  367. 


4IO  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

loads  a  day.  According  to  his  calculation,  then,  the 
average  annual  removal  from  each  square  kilometre  of 
surface  would  be  242  cubic  metres. 

From  the  amount  of  material  removed,  he  calculates 
the  ages  of  the  terraces  as  follows  : — 

The  first  or  oldest        .          .  1,150,000  years. 

The  second           .          .          .  330,000     „ 

The  third    ....  130,000     „ 

The  fourth           .          .          .  23,000     „ 

From  the  commencement  of  the  excavation  of  the 
valleys  to  the  present  there  would,  he  estimates,  be 
required  at  the  present  rate  of  erosion  a  period  of 
3,750,000  years. 

The  Geological  Magazine  for  June  1868  contains  an 
interesting  paper  by  Mr  (now  Sir  Archibald)  Geikie,  "  On 
Denudation  now  in  Progress,"  in  which  he  discusses  the 
general  effect  produced  by  rivers  excavating  valleys  and 
lowering  the  general  level  of  the  country.  "  For  it  is 
clear  that  if  a  river  carries  so  many  millions  of  cubic  feet 
of  sediment  every  year  into  the  sea,  the  area  of  the 
country  drained  by  it  must  have  lost  the  quantity  of 
solid  material,  and  if  we  could  restore  the  sediment  so  as 
to  spread  it  over  the  basin,  the  layer  so  laid  down  would 
represent  the  fraction  of  a  foot  by  which  the  basin  had 
been  lowered  during  a  year."  From  observations  made 
on  the  Mississippi,  Ganges,  Rhone,  Danube,  and  other 
great  rivers,  Geikie  estimates  the  annual  loss  at  q-qjjj^  of 
a  foot.  But  he  points  out  that  this  would  not  be  uniform. 
The  plains  and  watersheds  would  lose  little,  the  slopes 
and  valleys  much.  "There  can  be  no  doubt,"  he  says, 
"  that  the  erosion  of  the  slopes  and  water-courses  is  very 
much  greater  than  that  of  the  more  level  grounds.  Let 
it  be  assumed  that  the  waste  is  nine  times  greater  in  the 
one  case  than  in  the  other  (in  all  likelihood  it  is  more)  : 
in  other  words,  that  while  the  plains  and  table-lands  have 
been  having  one  foot  worn  off  their  surface,  the  declivities 
and  river-courses  have  lost  nine  feet.  Let  it  be  further 
assumed  that  one-tenth  part  of  the  surface  of  a  country 


DENUDATION   OF   CONTINENTS       411 

is  occupied  by  its  water-courses  and  glens,  while  the 
remaining  nine-tenths  are  covered  by  the  plains,  wide 
valleys,  or  flat  grounds.  Now,  according  to  the  foregoing 
data,  the  mean  annual  quantity  of  detritus  carried  to  the 
sea  is  equal  to  the  yearly  loss  of  -gT^JU  ^^  ^  ^°°^  from  the 
general  surface  of  the  country.  The  valleys,  therefore, 
are  lowered  by  ywuu  °^  ^  foot,  and  the  more  open  and 
flat  land  by  j^^;^|q^)  of  a  foot." 

Geikie  calculates  in  this  manner  that  Europe  would 
disappear  in  little  more  than  4,000,000  of  years.  I 
cannot  altogether  accept  this  conclusion,  for  when  a 
river  has  less  than  a  given  amount  of  fall,  it  ceases  to 
excavate.  Thus  the  efi^ect  of  the  Nile  is  to  raise,  not  to 
lower,  the  level  of  Egypt,  and  most  of  our  large  rivers 
near  their  mouths  act  in  a  somewhat  similar  manner. 
As  regards  the  higher  districts,  however,  his  data  are 
perhaps  not  far  wrong,  and  if  we  apply  them  to  the 
valley  of  the  Somme,  where  the  excavation  is  about 
200  feet  in  depth,  they  would  indicate  an  antiquity  for 
the  Palaeolithic  Epoch  of  from  100,000  to  240,000  years, 
which,  though  arrived  at  from  perfectly  difl^erent  data, 
agrees  with  the  periods  A  and  B  in  the  calculation  made 
by  Messrs  Croll  and  Stone. 

In  addition  to  the  causes  already  alluded  to,  there  is  at 
least  one  other  astronomical  phenomenon — namely,  the 
change  in  the  obliquity  of  the  ecliptic,  which  must  be 
taken  into  account  in  considering  the  effects  which 
cosmical  causes  may,  or  must,  have  exercised  on  climate. 
The  whole  question  then  is  one,  not  only  of  extreme 
interest,  but  also  of  very  great  difficulty,  and  we  are  not, 
I  think,  at  present  in  a  position  to  estimate  with  con- 
fidence the  effects  on  climate  which  may  have  been 
produced  by  these  various  causes. 

Several  other  points  connected  with  the  glacial  period 
receive  a  natural  explanation  from  the  suggestions  of 
M.  Adhemar  and  Mr  Croll.  Thus  M.  Morlot^  some 
years    ago    pointed    out    that    there    are    in    Switzerland 

'  Bu//.  dc  la  Soc.  Vandoise  des  Sciences  Naturclles^  March  1854; 
Bibl.  Universelle  de  Geneve^  May  1858. 


412  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

evidences  of  several  periods  of  cold,  during  what  is 
called  the  glacial  epoch,  separated  by  an  interval  of 
mildness. 

Of  this  the  most  striking  instance  is  afforded  by  the 
Dtlrnten  beds,  where  a  layer  of  coal  or  lignite  no  less 
than  twelve  feet  thick,  lies  between  two  glacial  deposits. 
Again,  Mr  Croll  gives  ^  particulars  of  250  borings  through 
the  surface  deposits  of  the  mining  districts  in  Scotland. 
Of  these,  25  showed  two  distinct  boulder  clay  beds, 
26  three,  i  four,  2  five,  and  i  as  many  as  six,  with 
stratified  beds  of  sand  and  gravel  between.  In  England 
it  is  generally  stated  that  there  are  two  beds  of  boulder 
clay  separated  by  one  of  sand  and  gravel.  These  may, 
however,  not  really  correspond.  There  may  have  been 
several  layers,  of  which,  however,  not  more  than  two 
are  shown  in  any  single  section.  The  beds  of  clay 
would  indicate  glacial  conditions,  the  sand  and  gravel 
being  deposited  during  the  milder  interglacial  periods.^ 

There  is  still  much  difference  of  opinion  whether 
M.  Adhemar  is  right  in  attributing  the  preponderance  of 
ocean  in  the  southern  hemisphere  to  the  influence  of  the 
great  Antarctic  glacier.  There  can,  however,  be  no  doubt 
that  an  accumulation  of  snow  and  ice  at  one  pole  would, 
by  affecting  the  position  of  the  centre  of  gravity  of  the 
earth,  attract  the  waters  towards  that  pole.  Mr  Croll 
calculates  that  a  diminution  of  470  feet  in  the  thickness 
of  the  Antarctic  glacier  would  raise  the  sea-level  at  the 
North  Pole  26  feet  5  inches,  and  25  feet  at  the  latitude 
of  Glasgow.  A  mile  of  ice  removed  in  the  same  way 
would  produce  a  change  of  280  feet.  Mr  Adhemar 
dwells  on  various  considerations  which  induce  him  to 
attribute  a  very  great  thickness  to  the  great  southern 
glacier,  and  consequently  he  considers  that  the  alterations 
of  sea-level  which  would  result  from  the  alternate  pre- 
ponderance of  ice  in  the    Arctic   and  Antarctic  regions, 

'  Climate  and  Time,  p.  254. 

2  Mr  Skertchly  also  considers  that  he  has  found  a  clear  case,  near 
Brandon,  in  which  palaeolithic  brick  earth  underlies  boulder  clay.  Other 
geologists,  however,  have  contested  his  interpretation  of  the  fact. 


ALTERATION   IN   THE   SEA-LEVEL    413 

would  account  for  the  various  alterations  in  the  distribu- 
tion of  land  and  water.  That  there  have  been  elevations 
and  depressions  of  the  land  itself  is  sufficiently  evident 
from  other  considerations  ;  and  it  is  impossible  to  deny 
that  the  cause  pointed  out  by  M.  Adhemar  may  have 
produced  the  relative  elevation  of  the  sea,  as  proved  by 
the  various  raised  beaches  which  fringe  our  shores,  and 
the  depression  on  the  other  hand  indicated  by  the  sub- 
merged forests,  observed  at  so  many  points. 

The  former  would  indicate  the  periods  of  cold  ;  the 
latter,  those  of  heat.  The  present  condition  of  our  rivers 
will  also  thus  be  simply  explained.  It  is  obvious  that 
they  have  excavated  their  own  valleys.  At  present, 
however,  they  are  most  of  them  filling  up  the  lower  parts 
of  the  excavation,  as,  for  instance,  we  have  seen  to  be 
the  case  with  the  Somme. 

Moreover,  the  bottom  of  these  valleys  is  in  most  cases 
lower  than  the  present  sea-level,  which  cannot  have  been 
the  case  at  the  time  when  they  were  excavated.  It  is 
evident,  then,  that  the  excavation  must  have  been  finished 
at  the  time  when  the  land  was  at  a  higher  relative  level 
than  at  present. 

Again,  it  will  be  remembered  that  side  by  side  with 
the  remains  of  Arctic  animals,  have  been  found  others 
indicating  a  warm  climate,  such,  for  instance,  as  the 
hippopotamus.  This  fact,  which  has  always  hitherto 
been  felt  as  a  difficulty,  is  at  once  explained  by  Mr  Croll's 
suggestion  ;  for  when  the  excentricity  was  at  a  high  value, 
we  should  have  a  change  every  ten  or  twelve  thousand 
years  from  a  high  to  a  low  temperature,  and  vice  versa. 
But  a  period  of  ten  thousand  years,  long  as  it  may  appear 
to  us,  is  very  little  from  a  geological  point  of  view  ;  and 
we  can  thus  understand  how  the  remains  of  the  hippo- 
potamus and  the  musk-ox  come  to  be  found  together  in 
England  and  France.  The  very  same  astronomical  con- 
ditions which  fitted  our  valleys  for  the  one,  would  at  an 
interval  of  ten  thousand  years  render  them  suitable  for 
the  other.  In  this  case,  palaeolithic  man  would  date 
back  to  the  warmer  interglacial  times,  which  perhaps  may 


414  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

explain  the  absence  of  any  human  remains  of  this  period 
in  Scandinavia  and  Germany. 

Another  consideration  which  tends  to  throw  light  on 
the  glacial  period,  is  the  existence  of  submarine  river 
valleys  on  the  bed  of  the  Atlantic.  It  has  long  been 
known  that  the  Western  European  rivers — and  the  same 
applies  to  the  eastern  rivers  of  North  America — can  be 
traced  out  to  sea,  and  the  subject  has  recently  been 
studied  by  Professor  Hull. 

The  following  figure  shows  the  "  continental  shelf," 
the  submerged  river  channel,  and  the  profound  depths 


Fig.  254. — Diagram  showing  present  and  former  sea-levels,  the  continental  shelf, 
and  the  submerged  river  valley,  as  shown  by  the  Admiralty  soundings. 

of  the  Atlantic.  Professor  Hull,  to  whom  I  have  sub- 
mitted the  diagram,  has  passed  it,  but  would  have  made 
the  elevation  even  greater,  say  7000  to  8000  feet. 

For  some  hundred  miles  west  of  Ireland  and  the  west 
of  Europe  the  sea  is  very  shallow,  reaching  a  depth  of 
100  fathoms  only.  It  then  drops  rapidly  to  the  abysses 
of  the  ocean,  2000  to  4000  fathoms.  Now,  Professor 
Hull  has  shown  by  setting  out  the  Admiralty  Charts 
that  the  valleys  of  the  ancient  rivers  which  drained  the 
English  Channel  and  the  Irish  Sea,  when  they  were  dry 
land,  the  Loire,  the  Gironde,  the  Adour,  the  Tagus,  the 
Congo,  etc.,  can  be  traced  out  to  sea,  gradually  deepening, 
and  on  approaching  the  edge  of  the  continental  shelf 
rapidly  descending  so  as  to  form  a  gorge  no  less  than 
some  6000  feet  in  depth.     Of  course  rivers  cannot  excav- 


ALTERATION    IN   THE   SEA-LEVEL     415 


Stanford's  Geog^Estab^London 

Fu;.  255. — Map  of  Western  Europe,  showing  submarine  courses  ot  the  rivers. 
Black  =  present  land  ;  Grey  =  ancient  land  ;  White  =  ocean. 


41 6  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

ate  valleys  below  the  sea-level :  the  result  would  be  to 
make  deltas  ;  and  though  this  is  prevented  in  tidal  seas, 
which  accounts  for  the  absence  of  deltas  at  the  mouths  of 
the  Atlantic  rivers,  still  they  tend  slowly  to  obliterate  the 
ancient  valleys,  and  raise  the  level  of  the  sea  bottom. 
The  existence  of  river  valleys  attaining  such  depths  as 
6000  feet  implies,  therefore,  that  Western  Europe  and 
Eastern  America  must  at  that  time  have  stood  6000 
feet  higher  than  they  do  now.  This  would  certainly 
involve  a  period  of  cold,  but  there  seems  no  sufficient 
reason  to  refer  this  elevation  to  Pliocene  or  Pleistocene 
times,  and  I  think  most  geologists  would  carry  it  back  to 
the  Miocene  or  even  the  Oligocene  Period. 

Sir  C.  Lyell  attempted^  to  form  an  estimate  of  the 
duration  of  the  glacial  epoch,  on  the  assumption  that  the 
different  movements  of  elevation  and  depression  pro- 
ceeded at  an  average  rate  of  2|  feet  in  a  century.  As 
the  simplest  "  series  of  changes  in  physical  geography 
which  can  possibly  account  for  the  phenomena  of  the 
glacial  period,"  he  gave  the  following  : — 

"  First,  a  continental  period,  towards  the  close  of  which 
the  forest  of  Cromer  flourished  ;  when  the  land  was  at 
least  500  feet  above  its  present  level." 

"  Secondly,  a  period  of  submergence,  by  which  the  land 
north  of  the  Thames  and  Bristol  Channel,  and  that  of 
Ireland  was  gradually  reduced  to  an  archipelago." 

"  Thirdly,  a  second  continental  period,  when  the  bed 
of  the  glacial  sea,  with  its  marine  shells  and  erratic  blocks, 
was  laid  dry,  and  when  the  quantity  of  land  equalled  that 
of  the  first  period." 

It  is  evident  that  such  changes  as  these  would  require 
a  great  lapse  of  time.  Sir  Charles  Lyell  admits  that  the 
average  change  of  2^  feet  in  a  century  is  a  purely 
arbitrary  and  conjectural  rate,  and  that  there  are  cases  in 
which  a  change  of  as  much  as  six  feet  in  a  century  appears 
to  have  taken  place  :  still,  it  is  in  his  opinion  probable 
that  the  rate  assumed  in  a  century  is,  if  anything,  above 
the  average,  and  in  this  I  believe  most  geologists  would 

1  Antiquity  of  Man,  pp.  282,  285. 


GEOLOGICAL  EVIDENCE  417 

be  disposed  to  agree  with  him.  On  this  hypothesis  he 
estimates  that  the  whole  series  of  changes  would  have 
required  some  220,000  years. 

To  most  geologists  these  figures,  large  as  they  are,  will 
have  no  appearance  of  improbability.  Prestwich  indeed 
was  disposed  to  consider  that  the  whole  glacial  period 
need  not  have  occupied  more  than  20,000  years.  This 
is  also  the  opinion  of  Mr  Wright.^  The  facts,  however, 
mentioned  above  seem  to  me  incompatible  with  so  short 
a  period.  In  fact  all  the  evidence  of  geology  seems  to 
me  to  indicate  an  antiquity  of  which  we  are  but  beginning 
to  form  a  dim  idea.  Take,  for  instance,  one  single 
formation — our  well-known  chalk.  This  consists  entirely 
of  shells  and  fragments  of  shells  deposited  at  the  bottom 
of  an  ancient  sea,  far  away  from  any  continent.  Such  a 
process  as  this  must  be  very  slow  :  we  should  certainly 
be  well  within  the  mark  if  we  were  to  assume  a  rate  of 
deposition  of  an  inch  in  a  century.  Now  the  chalk  is 
nearly  two  thousand  feet  in  thickness,  and  would  have 
required  therefore  more  than,  in  round  numbers,  2,000,000 
years  for  its  formation.  The  fossiliferous  beds  of  Great 
Britain,  as  a  whole,  are  more  than  seventy  thousand  feet 
in  thickness  ;  and  many  which  with  us  measure  only  a 
few  inches,  on  the  Continent  expand  into  strata  of  im- 
mense depth  ;  while  others  of  great  importance  elsewhere 
are  wholly  wanting  with  us  ;  for  it  is  evident  that  during 
all  the  different  periods  in  which  Great  Britain  has  been 
dry  land,  strata  have  been  forming  (as  is,  for  example, 
the  case  now)  elsewhere,  and  not  with  us.  Moreover,  we 
must  remember  that  many  of  the  strata  now  existing  have 
been  formed  at  the  expense  of  older  ones  ;  thus  all  the 
flint  gravels  in  the  south-east  of  England  have  been  pro- 
duced by  the  destruction  of  chalk.  This,  again,  is  a  very 
slow  process.  It  has  been  estimated  that  a  cliff  500  feet 
high  will  be  worn  away  at  the  rate  of  an  inch  in  a 
century.  This  may  seem  a  low  rate  ;  but  we  must  bear 
in  mind  that  along  any  line  of  coast  there  are  compara- 
tively few    points   which  are  suffering  at  one  time,  and 

^  Man  and  the  Glacial  Period^  p.  364. 

27 


41 8  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

that  even  on  those,  when  a  fall  of  cliff  has  taken  place, 
the  fragments  serve  as  a  protection  to  the  coast  until  they 
have  been  gradually  removed  by  the  waves.  Looking  at 
the  evidence  as  a  whole,  we  can  hardly,  I  think,  estimate 
at  less  than  100,000,000  years  the  time  which  must  have 
elapsed  since  the  commencement  of  life  on  our  planet. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  about  the  interest  of  these 
calculations,  and  they  have  also  the  great  merit  of  giving 
some  definiteness  to  our  ideas.  We  must  not,  however, 
attribute  to  them  a  value  which  has  been  distinctly  dis- 
claimed even  by  their  authors.  Moreover,  we  must 
remember  that  these  estimates  are  brought  forward  not  as 
a  proof,  but  as  a  measure,  of  antiquity.  Our  belief  in 
the  antiquity  of  man  rests  not  on  any  isolated  calculations, 
but  on  the  changes  which  have  taken  place  since  his 
appearance  :  changes  in  the  geography,  in  the  fauna,  and 
in  the  climate  of  Europe.  Valleys  have  been  deepened, 
widened,  and  partially  filled  up  again  ;  caves  through 
which  subterranean  rivers  once  ran  are  now  left  dry  ;  even 
the  configuration  of  land  has  been  materially  altered,  and 
Africa  finally  separated  from  Europe. 

Our  climate  has  greatly  changed  for  the  better,  and 
with  it  the  fauna  has  materially  altered.  In  some  cases — 
for  instance,  in  that  of  the  hippopotamus  and  of  the 
African  elephant — we  may  probably  look  to  the  diminu- 
tion of  food  and  the  presence  of  man  as  the  main  cause 
of  their  disappearance  ;  the  extinction  of  the  mammoth, 
the  Elephas  antiquus^  and  the  Rhinoceros  tichorhinus  may 
possibly  be  due  to  the  same  influences  ;  but  the  retreat 
of  the  reindeer  and  the  musk-ox  are  probably  in  great 
measure  owing  to  the  change  of  climate.  These  and 
similar  facts,  though  they  afford  us  no  means  of  measure- 
ment, impress  us  with  a  vague  and  overpowering  sense 
of  antiquity.  All  geologists,  indeed,  are  now  prepared 
to  admit  that  man  has  existed  on  our  earth  for  a  much 
longer  period  than  was  until  recently  supposed  to  have 
been  the  case. 

But  it  may  be  doubted  whether  even  geologists  yet 
realize  the  great  antiquity  of  our  race. 


PALAEOLITHIC   PERIODS  419 

"  When  speculations  on  the  long  series  of  events  which 
occurred  in  the  glacial  and  post-glacial  periods  are  indulged 
in,"  says  Sir  C.  Lyell/  "  the  imagination  is  apt  to  take 
alarm  at  the  immensity  of  the  time  required  to  interpret 
the  monuments  of  these  ages,  all  referable  to  the  era  of 
existing  species.  In  order  to  abridge  the  number  of 
centuries  which  would  otherwise  be  indispensable,  a  dis- 
position is  shown  by  many  to  magnify  the  rate  of  change 
in  prehistoric  times,  by  investing  the  causes  which  have 
modified  the  animate  and  the  inanimate  world  with  extra- 
ordinary and  excessive  energy.  .  .  .  We  of  the  living 
generation,  when  called  upon  to  make  grants  of  thousands 
of  centuries,  in  order  to  explain  the  events  of  what  is 
called  the  modern  period,  shrink  naturally  at  first  from 
making  what  seems  so  lavish  an  expenditure  of  past 
time." 

That  palaeolithic  implements  belong  to  a  period  of 
great  cold,  i.e.  to  the  glacial  period,  seems  indicated  by 
the  fact  that  they  have  not  yet  been  found  in  the  areas 
occupied  by  the  deposits  of  the  late  glacial  epoch.  If  a 
map  be  constructed  showing  the  regions  occupied  by  the 
deposits  of  the  glacial  epoch,  the  morainic  debris,  diluvial 
gravels,  and  boulder  clay,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
palaeolithic  implements  on  the  other,  it  would  be  seen  at 
a  glance  that  the  former  end  when  the  latter  begin. 

The  period  thus  indicated  must  certainly  have  been  of 
very  long  duration.  Lartet,  as  we  have  seen  (^anle,  p.  281), 
suggested  a  division  into  four  periods  :  those  of  the  (i) 
Cave  Bear,  (2)  Mammoth  and  Rhinoceros  tichorhinus, 
(3)  the   Reindeer,  and  (4)  the  Aurochs. 

M.  de  Mortillet  has  suggested  a  division  into  five 
periods,  founded  on  the  character  of  the  implements,  and 
named  after  typical  localities,  viz  :  (i)  Chelleenne,  (2) 
Acheuleenne,  (3)  Mousterienne,  (4)  Solutreenne,  and  (5) 
Magdalenienne.  The  first  is  characterized  by  axes  boldly 
worked  ;  the  second  by  the  "  Langues  de  Chat  "  of  St 
Acheul  (figs.  244-248)  ;  those  most  characteristic  of  the 
Mousterien  are  generally  worked  only  on  one  side  ;  those 
'  Address  lo  the  Brit.  Ass.,  1864,  p.  21,  Bath. 


420 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


of  Solutre  are  leaf-like  lance-heads  beautifully  worked  ; 
the  Magdalenienne  is  remarkable  for  the  number  and 
variety  of  bone  implements. 

Messrs  Penck  and  Brilckner  consider  that  there  were 
four  main  periods  of  great  cold  separated  by  milder 
intervals.  As  to  this  authorities  are  not  altogether  agreed, 
and  no  doubt  there  were  numerous  changes  ;  but  the 
evidence  seems  very  strong  that  there  were  four  main 
oscillations,^  and  Sir  C.  H.  Read,  in  his  excellent  British 
Museum  Guide  to  the  Stone  Age^  gives  the  following 
table  : — 

Table  showing  Succession  of  Glaciations  and  the  Paleolithic 
Industries,  according  to  the  Authorities  named. 


Professors 

Professor 

Professor 
Boule. 

Penck  and 
Bruckner. 

Professor  James  Geikie. 

Penck  and 
Dr  Rutot. 

Dr  Obermaier. 

Postglacial, 
with  oscilla- 
tions. 

C  Upper  Turbarian  \ 
\  Upper  Forestian   ( 
\  Lower  Turbarian  X 
(  Lower  Forestian  ) 

Madeleine 

■  Madeleine 
"  Solutre 

Madeleine. 
Solutre. 

Wiirm     (4th 

Mecklenburgian 

Madeleine 

Moustier 

Moustier. 

glacial). 

(Depositing  purple  boulder 
clay.) 

(3rd 
glacial.) 

3rd        inter- 

Neudeckian 

Solutre 

(  St  Acheul     ) 

Chelles. 

glacial. 

(Beds  between  chalky  and 

\      (cool)          ( 

(2nd  in- 

purple  boulder  clays.) 

1  Chelles          f 
(      (warm)      ) 

terglacial. ) 

Riss        (3rd 

Polandian  .... 

Moustier 

3rd  glacial 

2nd 

glacial). 

(Depositing     the     upper 
boulder  clay.) 

glacial. 

2nd       inter- 

Helvetian  .         . 

Chelles 

2nd       inter- 

1st  inter- 

glacial. 

(Represented   in   part   by 
middle  glacial  beds.) 

glacial 

glacial. 

Mindel  (2nd 

Saxonian    .... 

2nd  glacial  % 

glacial). 

(Severe,   Cromer  till   and 
contorted  beds.) 

1st        inter- 

Norfolkian 

1st       inter- 

1st  glacial. 

glacial. 

(Cromer   forest  bed,  pre- 
glacial  in  Britain.) 

glacial 

(Pliocene.) 

Giinz        (ist 

Scanian      .... 

Pliocene 

1st   glacial 

glacial). 

(Not  in  Britain.) 

J 

Guide  to  the  Antiquities  of  the  Stone  Age  {British  Museum),  1911,  p.  II. 

That    man    existed    in    Western    Europe    during    the 
period  of  the  mammoth  and  the  Rhinoceros  tichorhinus  no 

^  M.    Obermaier   has   come  to   the   same   conclusion   as   regards   the 
Pyrenees. 


MAN   IN   PLIOCENE   TIMES 


421 


longer,  I  think,  admits  of  a  doubt  ;  and  as  regards  Plio- 
cene times  the  existence  of  man,  or  of  some  semi-human 
ancestors  of  ours,  seems  also  to  be  well  established. 


Fig.  256. — Section  of  North  Downs,  showing  relative  positions  of 

plateau  and  river  drift. 

a.  Red  clay  drift,  5  to  20  feet  thick,  with  unrolled  flints  from  chalk,  overlying 

thin  patches  of  lower  Eocene  and  Pliocene  beds.     On  the  surface  are  found 

eoliths,  and  fragments  of  chert  and  ragstone  from  the  lower  greensand 

outcrop.     /,  Position  of  Pliocene  beds. 
3,  High-level  river  gravel,  about  100  ft.  above  the  Thames. 
c.  Low-level  river  gravel  and  loam,  sloping  down  to  the  Thames. 
Ch,  chalk.     G,  Upper  greensand  and  gault.     L.G.S.,  Lower  greensand. 
AA',  Major  valleys  of  glacial  period. 
BB',  Later  valleys. 

Mr  Benjamin  Harrison  has  found  on  the  summit  of 
the  Kentish  Downs  near  Ightham  a  certain  number  of 
palaeolithic  implements  belonging  to  the  well-known  types, 


Fig.  257. — Eolith  with  edge-chipping, 
Kent  plateau. 


Fig.  258. — Beak-shaped 
eolith,  Kent  plateau.' 


and  a  much  larger  number  of  very  rude  specimens 
(figs.  257  and  258),  so  rude  indeed  that  their  claim  to 
classification  as  worked  implements  has  been,  and  is, 
disputed  by  some  high  authorities.     Many  of  them  are, 

1  Guide  to  fhe  Antiquities  of  the  Stone  Age  {British  Museum),  1911, 
pp.  14-15. 


422  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

however,  as  it  seems  to  me,  undoubtedly  worked.  They 
have  been  termed  "  Eolithic  "  ;  but  if  the  term  is  intended 
to  imply  antiquity,  it  must  of  course  include  the  more 
elaborately  worked  and  typical  palaeolithic  implements 
which  occur  with  them.  They  are  found  in  a  peculiar 
brown  gravel  deposited  by  a  stream  or  streams  which  ran 
at  a  much  higher  level  than,  and  had  no  relation  to,  the 
existing  rivers  as  shown  in  fig.  256.  Similar  implements 
have  been  found  in  Wilts  and  Herts  by  Mr  Kendall,  and  in 

several  other  southern  counties, 
and  in  Belgium  by  M.  Rutot. 

TheTasmanians  used  stone  im- 
plements quite  as  rudely  worked 
in  various  ways — for  instance,  in 
preparing  spears,  and  in  scraping 
the  skin,  especially  that  of  the 
feet. 

Mr  Worthington  Smith  has 
found  palaeolithic  implements  on 

'"?c,?p'eVrl;,lrpi:,e:f' '       ^^   °W  fl°°'-  ™vered  over  with 

contorted  glacial  drift. 
A  remarkable  series  of  rough,  but  unquestionably 
worked  flint  implements  has  recently  been  brought  to 
light  by  Mr  J.  Reid  Moir.-^  They  were  found  near 
Ipswich,  resting  on  London  Clay,  and  Messrs  Whitaker 
and  Marr,  after  careful  examination  of  the  locality,  tell  us 
that  in  their  opinion  the  bed  in  which  they  occur  is  the  un- 
disturbed base  of  the  Red  Crag,  resting  on  London  Clay. 
Similar  specimens  had  been  collected  by  Mr  W.  G,  Clarke 
as  long  ago  as  1905,  at  the  base  of  the  Norwich  Crag  ; 
but  he  says,  "  It  was  not  till  his  first  notes  on  the  subject 
appeared  that  the  possibility  of  my  specimens  being  Pre- 
Crag  occurred  to  me  with  any  force."  The  specimens 
are  also  ably  described  by  Sir  E.  Ray  Lankester  in  his 
memoir  mentioned  below.     The  most  characteristic  are  a 

^  See  his  letter  to  the  Times,  October  17,  1910  ;  a  paper  in  the  Transac- 
tions of  the  Prehistoric  Society  of  East  Anglia  ;  the  report  of  a  committee 
of  the  same  Society,  191 1 ;  a  report  by  Mr  Whitaker  and  Dr  Marr  ;  and  a 
paper  by  Sir  E.  Ray  Lankester  in  the  Phil.  Trans,  for  November  191 1. 


EOLITHIC   IMPLEMENTS  423 

very  peculiar  "  eagle's  beak  "  or  "  rostro-carinate  "  type, 
which  had  not  been  previously  described.  Besides  Mr 
Clarke's  specimens,  there  is  one  in  Sir  John  Evans'  collec- 
tion, now  in  Sir  Arthur  Evans'  possession,  and  some 
have  been  found  by  Mr  Heron-Allen  in  a  gravel  of 
undetermined  age  at  Selsea  Mill  in  Sussex. 

The  existence  of  man  in  Pliocene  times  seems  there- 
fore now  to  be  satisfactorily  established. 

M.  Desnoyers  ^  has  called  attention  to  some  marks 
noticed  by  him  on  bones  found  in  the  Upper  Pliocene 
beds  of  St  Prest,  and  belonging  to  the  Elephas  meridion- 
aliSy  Rhinoceros  leptorhinus.  Hippopotamus  major^  several 
species  of  deer  (including  the  gigantic  Megaceros  carnu- 
torum^  Laugel),  and  two  species  of  Eos^  which  he  considers 
to  be  of  human  origin. 

Among  the  bones  of  the  deer  were  several  crania,  all  of 
which  have  been  broken  in  one  way,  namely,  by  a  violent 
blow  given  on  the  skull  between,  and  at  the  base  of,  the 
horns.  M.  Steenstrup  has  noticed  fractures  of  this  kind 
in  other  less  ancient  skulls  of  ruminants,  and  at  the 
present  day  some  of  the  modern  tribes  treat  the  skulls  of 
ruminants  in  the  same  manner.  Through  the  courtesy 
of  M.  Desnoyers,  I  have  had  the  opportunity  of  examin- 
ing some  of  the  scratched  bones  from  St  Prest.  The 
markings  fully  bear  out  the  description  given  by  him, 
and  some  of  them  at  least  appear  to  me  to  be  probably 
of  human  origin  ;  at  the  same  time,  and  in  the  present 
state  of  our  knowledge,  I  am  not  prepared  to  say  that 
there  is  no  other  manner  in  which  they  might  have  been 
produced.  At  the  same  place,  that  indefatigable  archae- 
ologist, M.  I'Abb^  Bourgeois,  has  more  recently  dis- 
covered worked  flints,  including  flakes,  awls,  and  scrapers  ; 
but  unfortunately  there  is  some  doubt  as  to  the  strati- 
graphical  relations  of  the  bed  in  which  they  occurred.^ 
Moreover,  some  authorities  consider  these  beds  to  be 
inter-glacial.  In  the  inter-glacial  coal-beds  of  DQrnten 
already  alluded  to   {ante^  p.  412),   Professor   Ratimeyer 

'  Comptes  Rendus,  June  8,  1863. 

-  Mai.  pour  r Histoire  de  F Homme.,  1867,  p.  17  ;  ditto,  1873,  p.  14. 


424  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

has  found  a  fragment  apparently  of  rough  basket  or 
wattle  work.  The  interpretation  in  this  case  again  has 
been  questioned,  but  Professor  Schwendener,  who  has 
recently  examined  the  specimens  with  great  care,  is 
decidedly  of  opinion  that  it  is  of  human  workmanship. 

At  the  meeting  in  Spezzia  of  the  "  Societe  Italienne  des 
Sciences  Naturelles,"  Professor  G.  Ramorino  exhibited 
some  bones  of  Pliocene  Age,  said  to  bear  marks  of  knives.^ 

M.  Capellini  also  described  certain  bones  supposed  to 
belorig  to  the  same  geological  period,  which,  in  his 
opinion,  bear  marks  of  flint  knives.  Sir  J.  Evans,  how- 
ever, has  suggested  that  these  marks  may  have  been  made 
by  the  teeth  of  fishes.^ 

The  existence  of  man  during  the  period  of  the  Crag 
has  been  supposed  to  be  indicated  by  the  fact  that  some 
of  the  sharks'  teeth,  so  abundant  in  these  deposits,  are 
perforated  in  a  manner  which  at  first  sight  certainly 
resembles  that  in  which  we  find  similar  teeth  pierced  by 
savages  at  the  present  day.  Mr  Charlesworth,  while 
carefully  abstaining  from  the  expression  of  any  opinion, 
exhibited  several  such  specimens  at  a  recent  meeting  of 
the  Anthropological  Institute.  It  has,  however,  I  think, 
been  shown  that  these  perforations  are  probably  the  work 
of  boring  parasites.^ 

Dr  Dubois  has  discovered  in  Java,*  in  a  layer  apparently 
of  Pliocene  Age,  to  judge  from  the  other  mammalian 
remains,  the  upper  part  of  the  skull,  a  thigh  bone  and 
two  teeth  of  an  animal  about  as  large  as  a  chimpanzee  (fig. 
235),  which  he  regards  as  having  been  intermediate  between 
man  and  the  anthropoid  apes,  and  there  is  this  strong 
support  of  his  view  that  while  the  remains,  in  the  opinion 
of  some  eminent  authorities,  are  those  of  an  anthropoid 
ape  allied  to  the  existing  Gibbons,  others  are  equally 
convinced  that  they  are  those  of  a  low  type  of  man. 
Through   the    kindness   of    Dr  Dubois   I    have  had  the 

^  Loc.  cit.,  vol.  ii.  p.  41.  ^  Congrh  Int.  d'Anth.,  1876,  p.  46. 

^  Hughes,  "Man  in  the  Crag,"  Geol.  Mag.,  vol.  ix.,  June  1872. 
*  Ftthecanfhf-opus  erectiis,  Batavia,   1894.     See  also  C.  R.,  3me  Cong. 
Int.  de  Zool  ^  Leyde,  1896. 


MIOCENE   EVIDENCE  425 

opportunity  of  examining  these  interesting  remains.  It 
is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that  they  are  not  more  complete, 
but  they  certainly  belonged  either  to  a  very  large  Gibbon 
or  a  very  small  man. 

Dr  Noetling,  of  the  Geological  Survey  of  India,  has 
also  recorded  unquestionable  flint  flakes  found  in  Burma 
with  remains  of  Rhinoceros  perimensis,  and  Hippotherium 
(Hipparion)  antelopinum,  in  strata  considered  to  belong 
to  the  Pliocene  Period.-^ 

Of  course,  for  the  believers  in  evolution  man  must 
have  had  a  precursor  in  Miocene  times  ;  but  no  mammalian 
species  goes  so  far  back  in  time.  It  is  therefore  extremely 
improbable  that  man  in  the  strict  sense  should  then  have 
existed,  but  it  would  seem  that  his  predecessors  of  that 
period  were  sufficiently  advanced  to  make  use  of  rude 
stone  implements.  M.  Bourgeois  has  found  in  the 
Calcaire  de  Beauce,  near  Pontlevoy,  many  flints  which 
have  been  subjected  to  the  action  of  heat,  and  others 
which  he  considers  to  show  marks  of  human  workman- 
ship. On  the  age  of  the  deposit  there  is  still  some 
difference  of  opinion,  and  the  action  of  fire,  though  it 
points  strongly  to,  does  not  absolutely  prove,  the  presence 
of  man.  These  interesting  specimens  were  found  in  a 
stratum  which  contains  the  remains  of  acerotherium,  an 
extinct  animal  allied  to  the  rhinoceros,  and  beneath  a  bed 
which  contains  the  mastodon,  dinotherium,  and  rhin- 
oceros. I  had  the  advantage  of  visiting  Pontlevoy  with 
Sir  J.  Evans  and  examining  the  specimens.  They  are 
certainly  very  rude,  but  the  action  of  fire  could  not  be 
doubted. 

In  the  Matiriaux  pour  FHistoire  de  V Homme  for  1870^  is 
a  figure  of  a  flint  flake  found  by  M.  Tardy  in  the  Miocene 
beds  of  Aurillac  (Auvergne),  together  with  the  remains 
of  Dinotherium  giganteum  and  Machairodus  latidens.  I 
have  not  visited  the  locality,  and  cannot  express  any 
opinion  as  to  the  age  of  the  bed  in  which  this  interesting 
specimen    was    discovered,    but    from    the    figure    given 

'  Records  of  the  Geol.  Survey  of  India,  vol.  xxvii.,  1894. 
'  J^oc.  cit.,  p.  93. 


426  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

there  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  that  it  is  of  human 
workmanship.  This  has  been  confirmed  by  M.  Rames 
and  by  Mr  Westlake,  who  devoted  several  years  to  the 
locality,  and  Sir  E.  Ray  Lankester  considers  that  the 
age  is  definitely  fixed,  as  the  layer  is  covered  by  a  lava 
flow  of  ascertained  Upper  Miocene  Age.  M.  Delaunay 
also  has  called  attention  to  a  rib,  found  by  him  at  Pouance 
(Maine  et  Loire),  and  belonging  to  a  well-known  Miocene 
species,  the  Halitherium  fissile  ;  ^  this  bears  certain  marks 
which  closely  resemble  those  which  might  have  been 
made  by  flint  implements.  M.  Hamy  gives  a  good 
figure  of  this  interesting  specimen. 

The  worker  of  these  flints  would  probably  have  difi^ered 
so  much  from  existing  men  that  he  would  be  regarded 
as  belonging  to  a  different  species,  and  would  be  one  of 
the  "  missing  links." 

No  living  species  of  land  mammal  has  yet  been  found 
in  the  Miocene  strata.  It  is  true  that  by  the  exercise 
of  his  brains  man  is  more  able  to  render  himself  inde- 
pendent of  external  conditions  than  other  animals  ;  cold, 
for  instance,  leading  to  warmer  clothes  in  the  one,  to 
more  fur  in  the  other  ;  still,  judging  from  the  analogy  of 
other  species,  I  am  disposed  to  think  that  in  the  Miocene 
Period  man  was  probably  represented  by  anthropoid  apes, 
more  nearly  resembling  us  than  do  any  of  the  existing 
quadrumana.  We  need  not,  however,  expect  necessarily 
to  find  the  proofs  in  Europe  ;  our  nearest  relatives  in 
the  animal  kingdom  are  confined  to  hot,  almost  to 
tropical  climates  ;  and  though  we  know  that  during 
parts  of  the  Miocene  Period  the  climate  of  Europe  was 
warmer  than  at  present,  so  that  monkeys  lived  much 
north  of  their  present  limits,  still  it  is  in  the  warmer 
regions  of  the  earth  that  we  may  reasonably  find  the 
earliest  traces  of  the  human  race. 

^  Precis  de  Paleontologie  Hutnaine,  p.  58. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


MODERN    SAVAGES 


Although  our  knowledge  of  ancient  times  has  of  late 
years  greatly  increased,  it  is  still  very  imperfect,  and  we 
cannot  afford  to  neglect  any  possible  source  of  information. 
It  is  evident  that  history  cannot  throw  much  light  on  the 
early  condition  of  man,  because  the  discovery — or,  to 
speak  more  correctly,  the  use — of  metal  has  in  all  cases 
preceded  that  of  writing.  Even  as  regards  the  Age  of 
Bronze,  we  derive  little  information  from  history  ;  and 
although,  as  we  have  seen,  the  Age  of  Stone  is  vaguely 
alluded  to  in  the  earliest  European  writers,  their  state- 
ments have  generally  been  looked  upon  as  imaginative 
rather  than  historical,  and  contain,  indeed,  little  more 
than  the  bare  statement  that  there  was  a  time  when  metal 
was  unknown. 

Nor  will  tradition  supply  the  place  of  history.  At 
best  it  is  untrustworthy  and  short-lived.  Thus  in  1770 
the  New  Zealanders  had  no  recollection  of  Tasman's 
visit.^  Yet  this  took  place  in  1643,  less  than  one 
hundred  and  thirty  years  before,  and  must  have  been  to 
them  an  event  of  the  greatest  possible  importance  and 
interest.  In  the  same  way  the  North  American  Indians 
soon  lost  all  tradition  of  De  Soto's  expedition,  although 
"  by  its  striking  incidents  it  was  so  well  suited  to  impress 
the  Indian  mind."^ 

Even   as   regards   events   which   are  contemporary,  or 

1  Cook's  First  Voyage  round  the  World,  Hawkesworth's  Voyages, 
vol.  ii.  p.  388. 

^  Schoolcraft's  Indian  Tribes,  vol.  ii.  p.  12. 

427 


428  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

nearly  so,  we  find  that  the  accounts  given  by  savages 
become  rapidly  distorted.  Thus  Nilsson  ^  quotes  the 
account  given  by  Mackenzie,  that  the  Esquimaux  described 
the  English  to  him  as  being  giants,  with  wings,  who 
could  kill  with  a  glance  of  their  eye,  and  swallow  a 
whole  beaver  at  a  mouthful.  So  also  Colonel  Dalton 
tells  us  that  "  though  the  Kols  have  known  the  English 
for  little  more  than  half  a  century,  they  assign  to  them 
a  most  honourable  place  in  their  genesis.  The  Assam 
Abors  and  Garrows  do  the  same."  ^ 

The  Bungogees  and  Pankhos  (hill  tribes  of  Chittagong) 
believe  that  their  ancestors  came  out  of  a  cave  in  the 
earth  under  the  guidance  of  a  chief  named  Tlandrokpah, 
who  was  so  powerful  that  he  married  the  daughter  of 
the  Deity,  to  whom  he  presented  his  gun.  "  You  can 
still  hear  the  gun  :  the  thunder  is  the  sound  of  it."^  In 
this  case  the  mention  of  the  gun  shows  that  the  tradition 
must  be  of  modern  origin.  Again,  Speke  says  :  "  I 
found  that  the  Waganda  have  the  same  absurd  notion 
here  as  the  Wanyambo  have  in  Karagtie,  of  Kamrisi's 
supernatural  power  in  being  able  to  divide  the  waters 
of  the  Nile  in  the  same  manner  as  Moses  did  the 
Red  Sea."  * 

Mansfield  Parkyns  relates  how  it  is  firmly  believed  in 
the  remote  parts  of  Abyssinia,  that  the  German  mission- 
aries had,  "  in  the  course  of  only  a  few  days,  perforated 
a  tunnel  all  the  way  (from  Adowa)  to  Massowa,  on  the 
coast  of  the  Red  Sea,  a  distance  of  above  a  hundred  and 
fifty  miles,  whence  they  were  to  obtain  large  supplies  of 
arms,  ammunition,  etc."^ 

Sir  S.  Baker ^  also,  in  his  Nile  Tributaries^  says  :  "The 
conversation  of    the  Arabs  is  in  the  exact  style   of    the 

^  The  Stone  Age,  English  edition,  p.  209. 

2  Trans.  Ethn.  Soc,  New  Sen,  vol.  vi.  p.  38.  See  also  Lichtenstein's 
Travels,  vol.  i.  p.  290 ;  James'  Expedition  to  the  Rocky  Moimtains, 
vol.  iii.  p.  247  ;  and  Campbell,  Trans.  Ethn.  Soc,  1870,  p.  335. 

^  Capt.  Lewin,  The  Hill  Tribes  of  Chittagong,  Calcutta,  1869,  p.  95. 
See  also  Lichtenstein's  Travels,  vol.  i.  p.  290. 

^  Speke,  p.  438,  also  p.  504.  ''  Life  in  Abyssinia,  p.  151. 

^  Loc.  cit.,  pp.  129,  130. 


ARABIAN   CHARACTERISTICS  429 

Old  Testament.  The  name  of  God  is  coupled  with  every 
trifling  incident  in  life,  and  they  believe  in  the  continual 
action  of  Divine  special  interference.  Should  a  famine 
afflict  the  country,  it  is  expressed  in  the  stern  language 
of  the  Bible,  '  The  Lord  has  sent  a  grievous  famine  upon 
the  land '  ;  or,  '  The  Lord  called  for  a  famine,  and  it 
came  upon  the  land.'  Should  their  cattle  fall  sick,  it  is 
considered  to  be  an  affliction  by  Divine  command  ;  or 
should  the  flocks  prosper  and  multiply  particularly 
during  one  season,  the  prosperity  is  attributed  to  special 
interference.  Nothing  can  happen  in  the  usual  routine 
of  daily  life  without  a  direct  connection  with  the  hand 
of  God,  in  the  Arab's  belief. 

"  This  striking  similarity  to  the  description  of  the  Old 
Testament  is  exceedingly  interesting  to  a  traveller  when 
residing  among  these  curious  and  original  people.  With 
the  Bible  in  one  hand,  and  these  unchanged  tribes  before 
the  eyes,  there  is  a  thrilling  illustration  of  the  sacred 
record  :  the  past  becomes  the  present,  the  veil  of  three 
thousand  years  is  raised,  and  the  living  picture  is  a  wit- 
ness to  the  exactness  of  the  historical  description.  At  the 
same  time,  there  is  a  light  thrown  upon  many  obscure 
passages  in  the  Old  Testament  by  the  experience  of  the 
present  customs  and  figures  of  speech  of  the  Arabs,  which 
are  precisely  those  that  were  practised  at  the  periods 
described.  I  do  not  attempt  to  enter  upon  a  theological 
treatise,  therefore  it  is  unnecessary  to  allude  specially  to 
these  particular  points.  The  sudden  and  desolating  ar- 
rival of  a  flight  of  locusts,  the  plague,  or  any  other  un- 
foreseen calamity,  is  attributed  to  the  anger  of  God,  and 
is  believed  to  be  an  infliction  of  punishment  upon  the 
people  thus  visited,  precisely  as  the  plagues  of  Egypt 
were  specially  inflicted  upon  Pharaoh  and  the  Egyptians. 
Should  the  present  history  of  the  country  be  written  by 
an  Arab  scribe,  the  style  of  the  description  would  be 
purely  that  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  the  various  calamities 
or  the  good  fortunes  that  have  in  the  course  of  nature 
befallen  both  the  tribes  and  individuals,  would  be  re- 
counted  either  as  special  visitations  of  Divine  wrath,  or 


430  PREHISTORIC    TIMES 

blessings  for  good  deeds  performed.  If  in  a  dream  a 
particular  course  of  action  is  suggested,  the  Arab  believes 
that  God  has  spoken  and  directed  him.  The  Arab  scribe 
or  historian  would  describe  the  event  as  the  '  voice  of  the 
Lord '  (Kallam  el  Allah)  having  spoken  unto  the  person  ; 
or,  that  God  appeared  to  him  in  a  dream  and  *  said.^ 
Thus,  much  allowance  would  be  necessary  on  the  part  of 
a  European  reader  for  the  figurative  ideas  and  expressions 
of  the  people." 

Although,  then,  traditions  and  myths  are  of  great 
importance,  and  indirectly  throw  much  light  on  the  con- 
dition of  man  in  ancient  times,  we  must  not  expect  to 
learn  much  directly  from  them.  At  any  rate,  as  regards 
the  Stone  Age  in  Europe  both  history  and  tradition  are 
silent,  and  here,  as  in  all  long-civilized  countries,  stone 
weapons  and  arrow-heads  are  regarded  as  thunderbolts  or 
"  elfin  "  arrows. 

Deprived,  therefore,  as  regards  this  period,  of  any 
assistance  from  history,  but  relieved  at  the  same  time 
from  the  embarrassing  interference  of  tradition,  the 
archaeologist  is  free  to  follow  the  methods  which  have 
been  so  successfully  pursued  in  geology — the  rude  bone 
and  stone  implements  of  bygone  ages  being  to  the  one 
what  the  remains  of  extinct  animals  are  to  the  other. 
The  analogy  may  be  pursued  even  farther  than  this. 
Many  mammalia  which  are  extinct  in  Europe  have  repre- 
sentatives still  living  in  other  countries.  Much  light  is 
thrown  on  our  fossil  pachyderms,  for  instance,  by  the 
species  which  still  inhabit  some  parts  of  Asia  and  Africa  ; 
the  secondary  marsupials  are  illustrated  by  their  existing 
representatives  in  Australia  and  South  America  ;  and  in 
the  same  manner,  if  we  wish  clearly  to  understand  the 
antiquities  of  Europe,  we  must  compare  them  with  the 
rude  implements  and  weapons  still,  or  until  lately,  used 
by  the  savage  races  in  other  parts  of  the  world.  In 
fact,  the  Van  Diemaner  and  South  American  are  to  the 
antiquary  what  the  opossum  and  the  sloth  are  to  the 
geologist. 

A  certain  space,  therefore,  devoted  to  the  consideration 


MODERN   SAVAGES  431 

of  the  modern  savages  will  not  be  out  of  place  in  this 
work  ;  and  though  it  would  require  volumes  to  do  justice 
to  the  subject,  still  it  may  be  possible  to  bring  together 
a  certain  number  of  facts  which  will  throw  light  on  the 
ancient  remains  found  in  Europe,  and  on  the  condition  of 
the  early  races  which  inhabited  our  continent.  In  order, 
however,  to  limit  the  subject  as  much  as  possible,  I 
propose,  with  one  exception,  to  describe  only  the  "  non- 
metallic  savages  "  (if  such  an  expression  may  be  permitted), 
and  even  of  these,  only  some  of  the  most  instructive,  or 
of  those  which  have  been  most  carefully  observed  by 
travellers. 

It  used  to  be  a  common  opinion  that  savages  are,  as  a 
general  rule,  only  the  miserable  remnants  of  nations  once 
more  civilized  ;  but  although  there  are  some  well- 
established  cases  of  national  decay,  there  is  no  scientific 
evidence  which  would  justify  us  in  asserting  that  this 
applies  to  savages  in  general.  No  doubt  there  are  instances 
in  which  nations  once  progressive  have  not  only  ceased 
to  advance  in  civilization,  but  have  even  fallen  back. 
Still,  if  we  compare  the  accounts  of  early  travellers  with 
the  state  of  things  now  existing,  we  shall  find  no  evidence 
of  any  general  degradation.  The  Australians,  Bushmen, 
and  Fuegians  lived  when  first  observed  almost  exactly  as 
they  do  now.  In  some  savage  tribes  we  even  find  traces 
of  improvement ;  the  Bachapins,  when  visited  by  Burchell, 
had  just  introduced  the  art  of  working  in  iron  ;  the 
largest  erection  in  Tahiti  was  constructed  by  the  generation 
living  at  the  time  of  Captain  Cook's  visit,  and  the  practice 
of  cannibalism  had  been  recently  abandoned  ;  ^  the  largest 
Mexican  temple  was  built  only  six  years  before  the  dis- 
covery of  America  ;  in  the  north  of  Australia,  M'Gillivray 
tells  us  that  the  rude  bark  canoes  which  were  formerly  in 
general  use  have  been  quite  superseded  by  those  dug  out 
of  the  trunk  of  a  tree  ;  again,  outriggers  are  said  to  have 
been  recently  adopted  by  the  Andaman  Islanders  ;  and  if 
certain  races,  as,  for  instance,  some  of  the  American  tribes, 

'  Forster,  Obscniations  made  during  a  Voyage  round  the  World,  p.  327. 
See  also  Ellis,  Polynesian  Researches^  vol.  ii.  p.  29. 


432  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

have  fallen  back,  this  has,  I  think,  been  due  less  to  any- 
inherent  tendency  than  to  the  injurious  effect  of  European 
influence.  Moreover,  if  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
Australia,  New  Zealand,  etc.,  had  ever  been  inhabited  by 
a  race  of  men  more  advanced  than  those  whom  we  are  in 
the  habit  of  regarding  as  the  aborigines,  some  evidence 
of  this  would  surely  have  remained  ;  and  this  not  being 
the  case,  none  of  our  travellers  having  observed  any  ruins 
or  other  traces  of  a  more  advanced  civilization,  there  does 
not  appear  to  be  any  sufficient  reason  for  supposing  that 
the  present  savage  races  are  at  all  inferior  to  the  ancestors 
from  whom  they  are  descended. 

The  Hottentots 

Speaking  generally,  we  may  say  that  the  use  of  metal 
has  been  long  known  throughout  Europe,  Asia,  and 
Africa  ;  while  in  America,  in  Australia,  and  in  the  Oceanic 
Islands,  all  implements  and  weapons  were,  until  within 
the  last  three  hundred  years,  made  of  wood,  bone,  stone, 
or  other  similar  materials. 

The  semi-civilized  nations  of  Central  America  formed, 
indeed,  a  striking  exception  to  the  rule,  since  they  were 
acquainted  with  the  use  of  bronze.  The  North  American 
Indians  also  had  copper  hatchets,  but  these  were  simply 
hammered  into  shape,  without  the  assistance  of  heat. 
Here,  therefore,  we  seem  to  get  a  glimpse  of  the  manner 
in  which  our  ancestors  may  have  acquired  the  knowledge 
of  metal.  No  doubt  the  possession  of  iron  generally 
marks  a  great  advance  in  civilization  ;  still,  the  process  is 
very  gradual,  and  there  are  some  nations,  which,  though 
provided  with  metal  implements,  are  nevertheless  but 
little  removed  from  a  state  of  barbarism. 

The  Hottentots,  who  were  not  only  acquainted  with 
the  use,  but  even  with  the  manufacture  of  iron,  and  who 
possessed  large  numbers  of  sheep  and  cattle,  were  yet 
in  many  respects  among  the  most  disgusting  of  savages. 
Even  Kolben,  who  generally  takes  a  favourable  view  of 
them,  admits  that  they  are,  in  his  opinion,  the  filthiest 


THE   HOTTENTOTS  433 

people  in  the  world.^  We  might  go  farther  and  say  the 
filthiest  animals  ;  I  think  no  species  of  mammal  could  be 
fairly  compared  with  them  in  this  respect.  Animals, 
indeed,  for  the  most  part  keep  themselves  beautifully 
clean.  But  this  is  not  the  case  with  man.  Clothes  intro- 
duce an  element  of  dirt,  the  use  of  grease  for  the  skin 
and  hair  accumulates  dust,  and  the  construction  of 
permanent  huts  leads  to  an  accumulation  of  filth.  Thus 
the  Hottentots  were  covered  with  grease,  their  clothes 
were  never  washed,  and  their  hair  was  loaded  "  from 
day  to  day  with  such  a  quantity  of  soot  and  fat,  and  it 
gathers  so  much  dust  and  other  filth  which  they  leave  to 
clot  and  harden  in  it,  for  they  never  cleanse  it,  that  it 
looks  like  a  crust  or  cap  of  black  mortar."  ^  They  wore 
a  skin  over  the  back,  fastened  in  front.  They  carried 
this  as  long  as  they  lived,  and  were  buried  in  it  when 
they  died.  Their  only  other  garment  was  a  square  piece 
of  skin,  tied  round  the  waist  by  a  string,  and  left  to  hang 
down  in  front.  In  winter,  however,  they  sometimes  used 
a  cap.  For  ornaments  they  wore  rings  of  iron,  copper, 
ivory,  or  leather.  The  last  had  the  advantage  of  serving 
for  food  in  bad  times. 

Their  huts  were  generally  oval,  about  fourteen  feet  by 
ten  in  diameter,  and  seldom  more  than  four  or  five  in 
height.  They  were  made  of  sticks  and  mats.  The  sticks 
were  fastened  into  the  ground  at  both  ends,  or,  if  not 
long  enough,  two  were  placed  opposite  to  one  another, 
and  secured  together  at  the  top.  One  end  of  the  hut 
was  left  open  to  form  the  door.  The  mats  were  made  of 
bulrushes  and  flags  dried  in  the  sun,  and  so  closely  fitted 
together  that  only  the  heaviest  rain  could  penetrate  them.^ 
"  With  respect  to  household  furniture,"  says  Thunberg,* 
"  they  have  little  or  none.  The  same  dress  that  covers 
a  part  of  their  body  by  day,  serves  them  also  for  bedding 
at  night."     Their  victuals  are  boiled  in  leathern  sacks  and 

'  Kolben's  History  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  vol.  i.  p.  47. 
-  Kolben,  loc.  ctt.,  p.  188. 

^  Thunberg  in  Pinkerton's   Travels,  vol.  xvi.  p.  33  ;   Kolben,  loc.  ctt., 
p.  221  ;  Sparrman,  vol.  i.  p.  195. 
*  Page  141. 

28 


434  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

water,  by  means  of  heated  stones,  but  sometimes  in 
earthen  pots.^  Milk  is  kept  in  leathern  sacs,  bladders  of 
animals,  and  baskets  made  of  platted  rushes,  perfectly 
watertight.  These,  a  tobacco  pouch  of  skin,  a  tobacco 
pipe  of  stone  or  wood,  and  their  weapons,  constitute  the 
whole  catalogue  of  their  effects.  According  to  Kolben, 
they  sometimes  broiled  their  meat,  sometimes  boiled  it  in 
blood,  to  which  they  often  added  milk  ;  "  this  they  look 
on  as  a  glorious  dish,"  They  were,  however,  both  filthy 
and  careless  about  their  cookery,  and  the  meat  was  often 
eaten  half  putrid,  and  more  than  half  raw.^ 

Their  weapons  consisted  of  bows  and  poisoned  arrows, 
spears,  javelins  or  assegais,  stones,  and  darting-sticks  or 
"  kirris,"  about  three  feet  long  and  an  inch  thick.  With 
these  weapons  they  were  very  skilful,  and  feared  not  to 
attack  the  elephant,  the  rhinoceros,  or  even  the  lion. 
Large  animals  were  also  sometimes  killed  in  pitfalls,  from 
six  to  eight  feet  deep,  and  about  four  feet  in  diameter. 
They  fixed  a  strong  pointed  stake  in  the  middle.  "  Into 
this  hole  an  elephant  falling  with  his  fore-feet  (it  is  not 
of  dimensions  to  receive  his  whole  body),  he  is  pierced 
in  the  neck  and  breast  with  the  stake  and  there  held 
securely,"  ^  for  the  more  he  struggled  the  farther  he 
penetrated.  They  caught  fish  both  with  hooks  and  in 
nets.  They  also  ate  wild  fruits  and  roots  of  various 
kinds,  which,  however,  they  did  not  take  the  trouble  to 
cultivate. 

For  domestic  animals  the  Hottentots  had  oxen,  sheep, 
and  dogs.  It  might  have  naturally  been  supposed  that 
oxen  were  used  in  the  same  manner  all  over  the  world. 
They  seem  evidently  adapted  either  for  draught  or  for 
food.  With  the  dog  the  case  is  different  ;  we  ourselves 
use  him  in  various  ways,  and  one  feels  therefore  the  less 
surprise  at  the  different  services  which  he  performs  for 
different  races  of  savages.     But  even  with  regard  to  cattle 

'  This,  however,  they  appear  to  have  learnt  from  the  Europeans. 
2  Thunberg,  p.  141  ;  Kolben,  p.  283;  Harris,   PVz'/d  Sports  of  Africa, 
p.  142. 
^  Kolben,  p.  250. 


HOTTENTOTS  435 

the  same  was  the  case  :  besides  what  we  may  call  their 
normal  uses,  the  Veddahs,  or  wild  inhabitants  of  Ceylon, 
used  oxen  in  hunting  ;  and  the  Hottentots  trained  some 
to  serve  as  what  we  may  call  sheep-oxen,  or  cow-oxen — 
that  is  to  say,  to  guard  and  manage  the  flocks  and  herds 
— and  others  as  war-oxen,  a  function  which  might  have 
been  considered  as  opposed  to  the  whole  character  of  the 
beast,  but  in  which,  nevertheless,  they  appear  to  have 
been  very  useful. 

The  Hottentots  of  late  years  not  only  used  iron 
weapons,  but  even  made  such  for  themselves.  The  ore 
was  smelted  in  the  following  manner  :  ^  "  They  make  a 
hole  in  a  raised  ground,  large  enough  to  contain  a  good 
quantity  of  ironstones,  which  are  found  here  and  there 
in  plenty  in  the  Hottentot  countries.  In  this  hole  they 
melt  out  the  iron  from  the  ore.  About  a  foot  and  a  half 
from  this  hole,  upon  the  descent,  they  make  another, 
something  less.  This  is  the  receiver  of  the  melted  iron, 
which  runs  into  it  by  a  narrow  channel  they  cut  from 
one  hole  to  the  other.  Before  they  put  the  ironstones 
into  the  hole  where  the  iron  is  to  be  smelted  out  of  them, 
they  make  a  fire  in  the  hole,  quite  up  to  the  mouth  of  it, 
in  order  to  make  the  earth  about  it  thoroughly  hot. 
When  they  suppose  the  earth  about  it  is  well  heated, 
they  fill  the  hole  almost  up  with  ironstones.  They  then 
make  a  large  fire  over  the  stones,  which  they  supply  from 
time  to  time  with  fuel,  till  the  iron  is  melted  and  all  of  it 
is  run  into  the  receiver.  As  soon  as  the  iron  in  the 
receiver  is  cold,  they  take  it  out,  and  break  it  to  pieces 
with  stones.  These  pieces  the  Hottentots,  as  they  have 
occasion,  heat  in  other  fires,  and  with  stones  beat  'em  out 
and  shape  'em  to  weapons.  They  rarely  make  anything 
else  of  iron." 

The  Hottentot  customs,  some  of  which  are  extremely 
curious,  are  fully  described  by  Thunberg,^  Kolben,^ 
Cook,*   Sparrman,^  and   other    travellers.     Whether    the 

'  Kolben,  loc.  cit..,  p.  239.  ^  /.oc.  at.,  pp.  141,  142. 

3  Pp.  113,  115,  118,  121,  153,  252. 

''  Hawkesworth's  Voyages,  vol.  iii.  p.  791.  "  Vol.  i.  p.  357. 


436  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

Hottentots  can  be  said  to  have  had  any  religion,^  depends 
upon  the  exact  meaning  we  attach  to  the  word.  Though 
they  seem  to  have  had  some  notion  of  a  Deity,  even 
Kolben  admits  that  they  had  not  "  any  institution  of 
worship."  Le  Vaillant  expressly  declares  that  the 
Hottentots  had  no  religion.  Some  of  the  older  writers, 
indeed,  consider  certain  dances  as  being  religious  cere- 
monies. This  was  stoutly  denied  by  the  natives  them- 
selves,^ in  spite  of  which  Kolben  assures  us  that  they 
were  "acts  of  religion,"  adding  candidly,  "let  the 
Hottentots  say  what  they  will."  They  are  very  fond  of 
smoking,  and  are  great  drunkards.  It  is  only  fair  to  say 
that  Kolben  gives  them  a  good  character  for  integrity, 
chastity,  fidelity,  and  liberality,  assuring  us  that  they 
"  are  certainly  the  most  friendly,  the  most  liberal,  and 
the  most  benevolent  people  to  one  another  that  ever 
appeared  upon  earth."  ^  Other  travellers  also  speak  of 
them  in  very  high  terms.*  At  the  same  time  it  is 
difficult  to  see  how  these  statements  can  be  reconciled 
with  the  admitted  fact  that,  as  soon  as  any  man  or 
woman  is  so  enfeebled  by  old  age  that  he  or  she  is 
unable  to  work,  and  can  "  no  longer " — I  am  quoting 
from  Kolben  himself — "  be  of  any  manner  of  service  in 
anything,  they  are  thrust  out  of  the  society  and  confined 
to  a  solitary  hut  at  a  considerable  distance  from  the 
kraal,  there,  with  a  small  stock  of  provisions  placed 
within  their  reach,  but  without  any  one  to  comfort  or 
assist  'em,  to  die  either  of  age  or  hunger,  or  be  devoured 
by  some  wild  beast."  ^  This,  it  must  be  remembered, 
was  no  exceptional  atrocity,  but  a  general  custom,  and 
applied  to  the  rich  as  well  as  the  poor,  for  if  an  old  man 
had  property  it  was  taken  away  from  him.  Infanticide, 
again,    was    very    common    among    them,    and    was    not 

1  Thunberg,  loc.  cit.,  p.  141,  etc.  ;  Kolben,  pp.  ^j,  93,  etc.  Beeckman 
thought  they  had  no  rehgion  at  all.  Pinkerton's  Voyages,  vol.  ii. 
p.  153;  so  also  Harris,  Wild  Sports  of  Africa^  p.  160 ;  Sparrman, 
vol.  i.  p.  207. 

-  Sparrman,  vol.  i.  p.  212  ;  Kolben,  loc.  cit.  ^  Loc.  cit.,'^.  331. 

*  See,  for  instance,  Philips'  South  Africa,  pp.  4,  5,  6. 

°  Loc.  cit.,  p.  321. 


BUSHMEN— VEDDAHS  437 

regarded  as  a  crime.  Girls  were  generally  the  victims  ; 
and,  if  a  woman  had  twins,  the  ugliest  of  them  was  almost 
always  exposed  or  buried  alive.  This  was  done  with  the 
consent  of  "the  whole  kraal,  which  generally  allows  it 
without  taking  much  pains  to  look  into  it."  ^  The 
poverty  and  the  hardships  which  they  had  to  undergo 
may  perhaps  plead  as  some  excuse  for  these  two  un- 
natural customs. 

The  Bushmen  resembled  the  Hottentots  in  many 
things,  but  were  even  less  civilized.  They  had  no 
knowledge  of  metallurgy,  no  domestic  animals,  and  no 
canoes.  They  frequently  stole  the  cattle  of  their  more 
advanced  neighbours,  but  always  killed  and  ate  them  as 
quickly  as  possible.  Their  principal  weapons  were  bows 
and  poisoned  arrows.  Lichtenstein  asserts  that  they  had 
no  names,^  but  this  was  probably  an  error.  Bleek 
regards  them  as  the  lowest  of  human  races,  and  Haeckel 
even  goes  so  far  as  to  assert  that  they  seem  "  to  the 
unprejudiced  comparative  student  of  nature,  to  manifest 
a  closer  connection  with  the  gorilla  and  chimpanzee  than 
with  a  Kant  or  a  Goethe."  ^ 

The  Veddahs 

The  Veddahs,  or  wild  tribes  who  inhabit  the  interior 
of  Ceylon,  have  been  described  by  Knox,*  Tennent,^ 
and  Bailey.^  They  live  in  huts  very  rudely  formed 
of  boughs  and  bark,  and  cultivate  small  patches  of 
chena,  but  subsist  principally  on  honey  and  the  produce 
of  the  chase.  Their  weapons  consist  of  axes  and  bows 
and  arrows.  With  the  latter  they  are  not  very  skilful, 
as  they  pursue  only  the  larger  game,  and  the  art  of 
hunting  consists  in  creeping  close  up  to  their  prey 
and    taking    it    unawares.       They    are   very   good    deer- 

'  Loc.  cil.,  p.  144.  -  Travels  in  Southern  Africa,  vol.  i.  p.  192. 

^  On  the  Orii^in  of  Language,  h\  W.  H.  J.  Bleek,  edited  by  Dr  E. 
Haeckel,  pp.  4,  5. 

^  An  Historical  Relation  of  Ceyloji,  1681.  '•'  Ceylon. 

•"'  Transactions  of  the  Ethnological  Society,  New  Series,  vol.  ii.  p.  278. 
See  also  Davy's  Ceylon. 


438  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

stalkers,  and,  besides  excellent  dogs,  have  also  hunting 
buffaloes.  These  are  so  trained  that  they  are  easily- 
guided  by  a  string  tied  round  the  horn,  and  are  used 
at  night.  The  buffalo  feeds,  the  man  crouches  behind 
him,  and  thus,  unseen  and  unsuspected,  steals  upon 
his  prey. 

They  have  no  pottery,  and  their  cookery  is  very 
primitive.  They  wear  scarcely  any  clothes,  nothing  in 
fact  but  a  scrap  of  dirty  rag,  supported  in  front  by  a 
string  tied  round  the  waist.  Perhaps  the  women's  cloth 
is  a  trifle  larger  than  the  men's,  but  that  appears  to  be 
the  only  difference.  They  are  very  dirty  and  very 
small  ;  the  ordinary  height  of  the  men  being  from  four 
feet  six  to  five  feet  one,  and  of  the  women  from  four  feet 
four  to  four  feet  eight.  Mr  Bailey  thinks  that  it  would 
be  impossible  to  conceive  more  barbarous  specimens  of  the 
human  race.  Davy  even  asserts  that  they  have  no  names, 
and  do  not  bury  the  dead. 

They  have,  however,  one  remarkable  peculiarity  which 
it  would  be  unfair  to  omit.  They  are  kind,  affectionate, 
and  constant  to  their  wives  ;  abhor  polygamy,  and  have  a 
proverb  that  "  Death  alone  can  separate  husband  and 
wife."  In  this  they  are  very  unlike  their  more  civilized 
neighbours.^  An  intelligent  Kandyan  chief,  with  whom 
Mr  Bailey  visited  these  Veddahs,  was  "  perfectly  scandal- 
ized at  the  utter  barbarism  of  living  only  with  one  wife, 
and  never  parting  until  separated  by  death."  It  was,  he 
said,  "just  like  the  wanderoos "  (monkeys).  Even  in 
their  marriage  relations,  however,  the  Veddahs  cannot 
altogether  be  commended,  as  it  is — or  was  until  lately — 
very  usual  with  them  for  a  man  to  marry  his  younger 
sister.  This  is  the  more  remarkable,  as  marriage  with  an 
elder  sister  seemed  to  them  as  horrible  as  it  does  to  us. 

Messrs  Sarasin  in  their  work  on  the  Veddahs  regard 
them  as  being  certainly  Dravidian,  and  not  Aryan — i.e. 
as  a  remnant  of  the  pre-Aryan  population  of  India. 

Mt  is  only  fair  to  add  that  the   Kandyans  are  said  to  have   much 
improved  in  this  respect  of  late  years. 


ANDAMAN   ISLANDERS  439 

The  Andaman  Islanders 

The  MIncopies,  or  Inhabitants  of  the  Andaman  Islands, 
have  been  described  by  Dr  Mouatt/  Sir  E.  Belcher,^  Mr 
Day,^  Mr  Man,  and  Professor  Owen,*  who  considers 
that  they  "  are,  perhaps,  the  most  primitive,  or  lowest  in 
the  scale  of  civilization  of  the  human  race."  Their  huts 
consist  of  four  posts,  the  two  front  ones  six  to  eight  feet 
high,  the  back  ones  only  one  or  two  feet.  They  are 
open  at  the  sides,  and  covered  with  a  roof  of  bamboo,  or  a 
few  palm-leaves  bound  tightly  together.  The  Mincopies 
live  chiefly  on  fruit,  mangroves,  and  shell-fish.  Some- 
times, however,  they  kill  the  small  pigs  which  run  wild 
in  the  jungle. 

They  have  single-tree  canoes,  hollowed  out  with  a  p- 
shaped  axe,  assisted  probably  by  the  action  of  fire.  They 
are  acquainted  with  the  use  of  outriggers,  which,  how- 
ever, appear  to  have  been  of  recent  introduction,  as  they 
are  not  alluded  to  by  the  earlier  writers.^  Their  arrows 
and  spears  are  now  generally  tipped  with  iron  and  glass, 
which  they  obtain  from  wrecks,  and  which  have  to  a  great 
extent  replaced  bone.  Their  harpoons,  like  those  of  so 
many  other  savages,  have  a  movable  head,  and  a  long 
cord  by  which  this  may  be  held  when  fixed  in  the  victim.** 
They  are  very  skilful  with  the  bow,  and  "  make  practice 
at  forty  or  fifty  yards  with  unerring  certainty,"  "^  though 
their  arrows  have  no  feathers.  Their  nets  are  made  with 
great  ingenuity  and  neatness.  They  now  make  some 
rough  pottery,  but  generally  use  either  shells  or  pieces  of 
bamboo  to  hold  water.  They  kill  fish  by  harpoons,  or 
with  small  hand-nets  take  any  that  are  left  by  the  tide, 
and  it  is  even  said  that  they  are  able  to  dive  and  catch 
them  with  their  hands.^ 

•  Adventures  and  Researches  among  the  Andaman  Islanders. 

-  Helcher,  Trans.  Kthn.  Soc,  New  Series,  vol.  v.  p.  40. 

^  Proc.  Asiat.  Soc.  of  Bengal.,  1870. 

*•   Transactions  of  the  Ethnologicnl  Society,  New  Series,  vol.  ii.  p.  34. 

^  Mouatt,  loc.  cit.,  p.  317.  J'  /-oc.  cit.,  p.  326. 

"  Belcher,  Trans.  Ethn.  Society.,  New  Series,  vol.  v.  p.  49. 

«  Mouatt,  loc.  cit.,  pp.  310,  333. 


440  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

They  cover  themselves  with  mud,  and  also  tattoo,  but 
wear  no  clothes.  They  count  only  up  to  two.  According 
to  Man,^  they  have  "  no  forms  of  worship  or  religious 
rites."  They  believe,  however,  in  the  existence  of  a 
"  spirit  "  whom  they  call  Puluga.  They  suppose  that  he 
created  everything,  except  the  evil  spirits.  He  is  regarded 
as  omniscient  "  while  it  is  day."  He  lives  in  a  large 
store-house,  and  eats  and  drinks.  He  "  has  no  authority 
over  the  evil  spirits,"  and  under  these  circumstances, 
though  Mr  Man  speaks  of  him  as  the  "  Supreme  Being," 
he  cannot  be  so  termed  in  the  usual  sense.  After  death, 
the  corpse  is  buried  in  a  sitting  posture.  When  it  is 
supposed  to  be  entirely  decayed,  the  skeleton  is  dug  up, 
and  each  of  the  relations  appropriates  a  bone.  In  the 
case  of  a  married  man,  the  widow  takes  the  skull  and 
wears  it  suspended  by  a  cord  round  her  neck.^  It  forms 
a  very  convenient  box  for  small  articles.  Marriage,  how- 
ever, only  lasts,  at  least  in  some  tribes,  until  the  child  is 
born  and  weaned,  when,  according  to  Lieutenant  St  John, 
as  quoted  by  Sir  E.  Belcher,  the  man  and  woman  generally 
separate,  each  seeking  a  new  partner.^ 

They  have  no  dogs,  nor  indeed  any  domestic  animals. 

The  Australians 

Throughout  the  whole  continent  of  Australia  the 
aborigines  were  remarkably  similar  in  physical  appearance, 
in  character,  and  in  general  habits.  They  were,  in  some 
respects,  scarcely,  if  at  all,  farther  advanced  than  those  of 
the  Andaman  Islands.  The  "  houses "  observed  by 
Captain  Cook  "  at  Botany  Bay,  where  they  were  best, 
were  just  high  enough  for  a  man  to  sit  upright  in,  but 
not  large  enough  for  him  to  extend  himself  in  his  whole 
length  in  any  direction  ;  they  were  built  with  pliable  rods 
about  as  thick  as  a  man's  finger,  in  the  form  of  an  oven, 
by  sticking  the  two  ends  into  the  ground,  and  then 
covering  them  with  palm-leaves  and  broad  pieces  of  bark  ; 

'  Journal  Anthr.  Institute,  v.  12,  p.  156. 

^  Loc.  cit.,  p.  327  ;  Belcher,  loc.  cit.,  p.  43.  ■'  Loc.  cit.,  p.  45. 


AUSTRALIAN   ABORIGINES  441 

the  door  is  nothing  but  a  large  hole  at  one  end."  Eyre 
also  gives  a  very  similar  description  of  those  observed  by 
him.^  Further  north,  where  the  climate  was  warmer,  the 
dwellings  were  even  less  substantial,  and  being  compara- 
tively open  on  one  side,  scarcely  deserve  even  the  name 
of  huts,  and  were  little  more  than  a  protection  against  the 
wind.  Finally,  the  natives  observed  by  Dampier  near  C. 
Leveque,  on  the  north-west  coast,  seem  to  have  had  no 
houses  at  all.  Round  their  dwelling-places  Captain  Cook 
observed  "  vast  heaps  of  shells,  the  fish  of  which  we 
suppose  had  been  their  food."  ^  Sir  G.  Grey  also  describes 
similar  shell-mounds,^  some  of  which  covered  quite  half 
an  acre,  and  were  as  much  as  ten  feet  high.  They  seem 
to  have  been  first  noticed  by  Dampier.* 

The  food  of  the  Australian  savages  differs  much  in 
different  parts  of  the  continent.  Speaking  generally,  it 
may  be  said  to  consist  of  various  roots,  fruits,  fungi, 
shell-fish,  frogs,  snakes,  honey,  grubs,  moths,  birds,  birds' 
eggs,  fish,  turtles,  dog,  kangaroo,  and  sometimes  of  seal 
and  whale.^  The  kangaroo,  however,  forms  only  an 
occasional  luxury  ;  nor  are  the  natives,  so  far  as  I  am 
aware,  able  to  kill  whales  for  themselves,  but  when  one 
is  washed  on  shore  it  is  a  real  godsend  to  them.  Fires 
are  immediately  lit  to  give  notice  of  the  joyful  event. 
Then  they  rub  themselves  all  over  with  blubber,  and 
anoint  their  favourite  wives  in  the  same  way  ;  after  which 
they  cut  down  through  the  blubber  to  the  beef,  which 
they  sometimes  eat  raw  and  sometimes  broil  on  pointed 
sticks.  As  other  natives  arrive,  they  "  fairly  eat  their 
way  into  the  whale,  and  you  see  them  climbing  in  and 
about  the  stinking  carcase,  choosing  titbits."  For  days 
"  they  remain  by  the  carcase,  rubbed  from  head  to  foot 
with  stinking  blubber,  gorged  to  repletion  with    putrid 

'  Discoveries  in  Central  Australia,  vol.  ii.  p.  300. 

-  First  Voyage,  vol.  iii.  p.  598. 

'''  Loc.  cit.,  vol.  i.  p.  110.     See  also  King's  Australia,  vol.  i.  p.  87. 

''  Pinkerton's  Voyages,  vol.  ii.  p.  473. 

•'  Grey's  Explorations  in  North- IVest  and  Western  Australia,  p.  263  ; 
Eyre,  vol.  ii.  p.  251  ;  M'Gillivray's  Voyage  of  H.M.S.  "■Rattlesnake^^ 
vol.  i.  p.  148. 


442  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

meat — out  of  temper  from  indigestion,  and  therefore 
engaged  in  constant  frays — suffering  from  a  cutaneous 
disorder  by  high  feeding — and  altogether  a  disgusting 
spectacle.  There  is  no  sight  in  the  world,"  Sir  G.  Grey 
adds,  "  more  revolting  than  to  see  a  young  and  gracefully 
formed  native  girl  stepping  out  of  the  carcase  of  a  putrid 
whale."  The  Australians  also  mash  up  bones  and  suck 
out  the  fat  contained  in  them.  Like  other  savages,  they 
are  excessively  fond  of  fatty  substances. 

In  a  cave  on  the  north-eastern  coast,  Mr  Cunningham 
observed  certain  "  tolerable  figures  of  sharks,  porpoises, 
turtles,  lizards,  trepang,  starfish,  clubs,  canoes,  water- 
goui-ds,  and  some  quadrupeds  which  were  probably  in- 
tended to  represent  kangaroos  and  dogs."  The  natives 
round  Sydney  also  frequently  drew  upon  the  rocks 
"  various  figures  of  fish,  clubs,  swords,  animals,  and 
branches  of  trees,  not  contemptibly  represented."  ^  Most 
of  the  tribes,  on  the  contrary,  were  very  deficient  in  art, 
and,  according  to  Mr  Oldfield,  are  "  quite  unable  to  realize 
the  most  vivid  artistic  representations.  On  being  shown 
a  large  coloured  engraving  of  an  aboriginal  New  Hollander, 
one  declared  it  to  be  a  ship,  another  a  kangaroo,  and  so  on ; 
not  one  of  a  dozen  identifying  the  portrait  as  having  any 
connection  with  himself."  ^  It  is  not,  however,  quite  clear 
to  me  that  they  were  not  poking  fun  at  Mr  Oldfield. 

On  the  north-eastern  coasts  they  use  canoes  made  from 
the  trunks  of  trees,  each  canoe  being  formed  from  a  single 
trunk,  probably  hollowed  by  fire.  "  They  are  about 
fourteen  feet  long,  and  being  very  narrow,  are  fitted  with 
an  outrigger."  ^  Farther  south  the  canoes  were  nothing 
but  a  piece  of  bark,  tied  together  at  the  ends  and  kept 
open  in  the  middle  by  small  bows  of  wood.  The  western 
tribes  had  no  canoes,*  owing,  according  to  King,''  to  the 

1  King,  vol.  ii.  p.  26;  Grey,  vol.  i.  p.  259  ;  Collins,  p.  381. 

2  Oldfield,  "  On  the  Aborigines  of  Australia,"  Transactioiis  of  the  Ethno- 
logical Society,  New  Series,  vol.  iii. 

^  Freycinet,  Voyage  aiiiour  du  Monde,  vol.  ii.  p.  705  ;  Jukes,  Voyage 
of  H.M.S.  "  Fly,"  ii.  243. 

■'   Cook\  First  Voyage,  vol.  iii.  p.  643. 

"  Loc.  cit.,  vol.  i.  pp.  38,  43,  49  ;  vol.  ii.  pp.  66,  69. 


AUSTRALIAN   ABORIGINES  443 

absence  of  large  timber.^  Instead  of  a  boat  they  used  a 
log  of  wood,  on  which  they  sat  astride,  with  a  bit  of  bark 
in  each  hand,  which  served  as  a  paddle.  Some  tribes 
fasten  four  or  five  mangrove  stems  together  so  as  to  make 
a  small  float  or  raft.  The  natives  observed  by  Dampier 
were  even  worse  off  in  this  respect  ;  they  had  "  no  boats, 
canoes,  or  bark  logs."  Yet  they  dwelt  on  the  shore, 
lived  principally  on  fish,  and  swam  about  from  island  to 
island.  The  Western  Australians,  according  to  Jukes, 
had  neither  boats  nor  rafts,  "  and  the  islands  close  to  the 
mainland  had  never  been  visited  by  them  previously  to 
the  founding  of  our  colonies."  So  also  some  of  the 
tribes  near  Sydney  are  said  to  have  been  unable  to  swim.^ 
The  absence  of  canoes  is  very  remarkable  in  a  people 
whose  habits  were  so  littoral,  and  whose  food  was  derived 
mainly  from  the  sea. 

The  implements  of  the  Australians  are  very  simple. 
They  have  no  knowledge  of  pottery,  and  carry  water  in 
skins  or  in  vessels  made  of  bark.  They  are  quite 
ignorant  of  warm  water,  which  strikes  them  with  great 
amazement.^  Some  of  them  carry  "a  small  bag,  about  the 
size  of  a  moderate  cabbage-net,  which  is  made  by  laying 
threads  loop  within  loop,  somewhat  in  the  manner  of 
knitting  used  by  our  ladies  to  make  purses.  This  bag 
the  man  carries  loose  upon  his  back  by  a  small  string, 
which  passes  over  his  head  ;  it  generally  contains  a  lump 
or  two  of  paint  and  resin,  some  fish-hooks  and  lines,  a 
shell  or  two,  out  of  which  their  hooks  are  made,  a  few 
points  of  darts,  and  their  usual  ornaments,  which  includes 
the  whole  worldly  treasure  of  the  richest  man  among 
them." 

A  very  similar  inventory  is  given  by  Sir  G.  Grey,  who 
adds,  however,  a  flat  stone  to  pound  roots  with.*  They 
have  also  stone  hatchets,  hammers,  knives,  pieces  of  flint, 
and   sticks   to  dig  up   roots.     The    hammer  is   used  for 

'  In  his  view,  however,  of  Careening^  Bay,  ihe  country  appears  to  be 
well  wooded. 

-    Voyaj^'^c  of  the  "  Novara,"  English  Trans.,  vol.  iii.  p.  36. 

^  D'Urville,  vol.  i.  p.  461.  ■•  Loc.  ci/.,  p.  266. 


444 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


killing  seals  or  other  animals,  and  for  breaking 
open  shell-fish.  The  handle  is  from  twelve  to 
fifteen  inches  long,  pointed  at  one 
end,  and  having  on  each  side  at  the 
other  a  hard  stone  attached  to  the 
handle  by  a  mass  of  gum.  The 
knives  (fig.  260,  which  represents  a 
specimen  presented  to  me  by  A.  W. 
Franks,  Esq.)  have  a  similar  handle, 
and  at  the  end  a  few  splinters  of 
quartz  or  flint,  arranged  in  a  row 
and  fastened  into  a  slit  with  gum  in 
the  same  manner. 

The  natives  of  Botany  Bay  had 
fish-hooks,  but  no  nets  :  on  the 
contrary.  Sir  G.  Grey,  in  describing 
those  of  Western  Australia,  mentions 
nets,  but  not  hooks  ;  Eyre  also  states 
that  hooks  were  unknown  in  South 
Australia,  while  nets  were  used  in 
hunting  and  as  bags  ;  Taplin  says 
that  the  Narinyeri  had  neither  nets 
nor  hooks  ;  the  natives  of  the  North- 
west also,  according  to  Dampier,  had 
"  no  instruments  to  catch  great  fish." 
Those  seen  by  King  were  also  with- 
out hooks  or  nets.^  Throughout 
the  continent  they  were  ignorant 
both  of  slings  and  bows  and  arrows. 
On  the  other  hand,  they  had  spears, 
clubs  (fig.  261),  shields,  and  two 
very  peculiar  instruments,  namely, 
the  throwing-stick  (fig.  262),  and  the 
boomerang  (fig.  263).  The  spear  is  their 
principal  weapon.  These  are  about  ten  feet 
long,  and  very  slender,  made  of  cane  or  wood, 
tapering  to  a  point,  which  is  barbed.  They 
are  light,  and  one  would  scarcely  be  inclined 

'  Loc.  cU.,  vol.  ii.  p.  137. 


Fig.  260. — 
Australian 
knife. 


Fig.  261. — 
Australian 
club,  one- 
fifth  of  the 
actual  size. 


AUSTRALIAN   ABORIGINES 


445 


J 


to  believe  that  they  could  be  darted  with 
any  force  ;  this,  however,  is  affected  by  the 
aid  of  the  wummera,  a  straight  flat  stick, 
three  feet  in  length,  termin- 
ating in  a  socket  of  bone  or 
hide  into  which  the  end  of 
the  spear  is  fixed.  The 
throwing-stick  or  wummera 
is  only  used  in  three  locali- 
ties, viz,  by  the  Australians, 
in  the  country  of  the  Corribas 
and  Purus  on  the  Upper 
Amazon,  and  the  Esquimaux. 
It  is  grasped  in  the  right 
hand  by  three  fingers  (fig. 
262),  the  spear  lying  be- 
I  tween  the  forefinger  and  the 
thumb.  Previous  to  throw- 
ing it,  a  tremulous  or  vibra- 
tory motion  is  given  to  it, 
which  is  supposed  to  add 
to  the  accuracy  of  the  aim  ; 
in  projecting  the  spear,  the 
wummeru  is  retained  in 
the  hand,  and  the  use  of 
this  simple  contrivance  adds 
greatly  to  the  projectile  force 
given  to  the  spear.  They 
are  well  practised  in  the  use 
of  these  weapons.^  Indeed, 
Sir  G.  Grey  tells  us  that  he 
has  often  seen  them  kill  a 
pigeon  with  a  spear  at  a  distance  of  thirty 
yards  ;  and  Captain  Cook  says  that  "  at  a 
distance  of  fifty  yards  these  Indians  were 
more  sure  of  their  mark  than  we  could  be 
with  a  single  bullet.""  The  "wummera" 
seems  to  have  been  used  by  almost  all  the 

'  United  States  Explor.  Exped.,  vol.  i.  p.  191.         -  Cook,  loc.  cit.,  p.  642. 


Fk;.  263. — Australian 
boomerang,  one- 
sixth  of  the  actual 
size. 


Fig.  262.  — 
Australian 
spear  and 
spear -caster. 


446  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

Australian  tribes.  It  was,  however,  according  to  Flinders,^ 
unknown  at  King  George's  Sound.  The  very  long 
Australian  spears  are  not  thrown  with  the  wummera, 
but  by  the  strength  of  the  arm  alone.  They  are  of 
several  kinds  :  those  used  for  striking  turtle  or  dugong 
have  a  movable,  barbed  blade,  which  is  attached  by  a 
string  to  the  butt-end  of  the  spear  ;  when  the  turtle  is 
struck,  the  shaft  becomes  detached  from  the  point,  which 
remains  fixed  in  the  body,  while  the  shaft  serves  partly  to 
impede  motions,  and  partly  as  a  float  to  indicate  the 
position  of  the  turtle.^  A  similar  weapon  is  used  by 
the  Esquimaux,  the  Mincopies,  the  Fuegians,  some 
Brazilian  Indians,  and  other  savages.  But  the  most 
extraordinary  weapon,  and  one  quite  peculiar  to  Australia, 
is  the  boomerang.  This  is  a  curved  stick,  generally 
rounded  on  one  side,  flatter  on  the  other,  about  three  feet 
long  and  two  inches  wide,  by  three-quarters  of  an  inch 
thick.  At  first  sight  it  looks  something  like  a  very  rude 
wooden  sword.  It  is  used  both  in  the  chase  and  in  war. 
"  It  is  grasped  at  one  end  in  the  right  hand,  and  is 
thrown  sickle-wise,  either  upwards  into  the  air,  or  down- 
wards so  as  to  strike  the  ground  at  some  distance  from 
the  thrower.  In  the  first  case  it  flies  with  a  rotatory 
motion,  as  its  shape  would  indicate  ;  after  ascending  to  a 
great  height  in  the  air,  it  suddenly  returns  in  an  elliptical 
orbit  to  a  spot  near  its  starting-point.  On  throwing  it 
downwards  on  the  ground,  it  rebounds  in  a  straight  line, 
pursuing  a  ricochet  motion  until  it  strikes  the  object  at 
which  it  is  thrown.  Birds  and  small  animals  are  killed 
with  it,  and  it  is  also  used  in  killing  ducks.  The  most 
singular  curve  described  by  it  is  when  thrown  into  the 
air  above  the  angle  of  45°  ;  its  flight  is  always  then 
backwards,  and  the  native  who  throws  it  stands  with  his 
back,  instead  of  his  face,  to  the  object  he  is  desirous  of 
hitting."^     Mr    Merry,    a   gentleman    who    resided    for 

'    l^oj.  to  Terra  Australts,  vol.  ii.  p.  66. 

-  Hawkesworth's  Voyag-cs,  vol.  iii.  p.  636.     See  also  Eyre,  vol.  ii.  p.  305  ; 
M'Gillivray,  vol.  i.  p.  147. 
^  United  States  Explor.  E.xped.,  loc.  cit. 


AUSTRALIAN   ABORIGINES  447 

some  time  in  Australia,  informs  me  that  on  one  occasion, 
in  order  to  test  the  skill  with  which  the  boomerang  could 
be  thrown,  he  offered  a  reward  of  sixpence  for  every 
time  the  boomerang  was  made  to  return  to  the  spot  from 
which  it  was  thrown.  He  drew  a  circle  of  five  or  six  feet 
on  the  sand,  and  although  the  boomerang  was  thrown 
with  much  force,  the  native  succeeded  in  making  it  fall 
within  the  circle  five  times  out  of  twelve.  Eyre  also  says 
that  this  weapon  is  particularly  useful  in  war,  "  as  it  is 
almost  impossible,  even  when  it  is  seen  in  the  air,  to  tell 
which  way  it  will  go,  or  where  descend.  I  once  nearly 
had  my  arm  broken  by  a  wangno,  whilst  standing  within 
a  yard  of  the  native  who  threw  it,  and  looking  out 
purposely  for  it."  ^  Mr  Oldfield,"^  on  the  contrary, 
speaks  much  less  favourably  of  the  boomerang.  It  is,  he 
says,  but  little  used  in  war  ;  nor  do  the  natives  "  ever 
attempt  to  kill  a  solitary  bird  or  beast  by  means  of  "  it. 
On  the  other  hand,  in  swampy  localities,  where  waterfowl 
"  congregate  largely,  the  boomerang  is  of  essential  use  ; 
for  a  great  number  of  them  being  simultaneously  hurled 
into  a  large  flock  of  waterfowl,  ensures  the  capture  of 
considerable  numbers."  According  to  M'Gillivray,  the 
boomerang  is  unknown  on  the  north  coast  from  Cape 
York  to  Port  Essington.^  Mr  W.  D.  Campbell  has 
suggested  that  the  idea  of  the  boomerang  was  given  by 
the  leaf  of  the  "  Blue  Gum,"  Eucalyptus,  which  is  very 
similar  in  form. 

The  Australians  obtain  fire  by  rubbing  together  two 
pieces  of  wood.  This  process,  however,  being  one  of 
considerable  labour,  particularly  in  damp  weather,  great 
care  is  taken  to  prevent  the  fire,  when  once  lighted,  from 
becoming  extinguished.  For  this  reason  they  often  carry 
with  them  a  cone  of  banksia,  which  burns  slowly,  like 
amadou.* 

Mr  Stuart  informs  me  that  some  of  the  northern  tribes 


^  Loc.  ctL,  vol.  ii.  p.  308. 

-  Trans.  Ethn.  Soc..,  New  Scries,  vol.  iii.  p.  264. 

■*  Voyage  of  the  "■  Raftlesnake,"  vol.  i.  p.  92. 

■*  D'Urville,  vol.  i.  p.  194. 


448  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

had  no  means  of  relighting  their  fires,  but  if  they  ever 
became  simultaneously  extinguished,  used  to  go  to  a 
neighbouring  tribe  for  a  fresh  light.  So  also,  according 
to  M.  Angas,  some  of  the  western  tribes  "  have  no  means 
of  kindling  fire.  They  say  that  it  formerly  came  down 
from  the  north,"  and  if  it  happens  to  go  out  they  procure 
it  again  from  some  neighbouring  encampment.^ 

According  to  Captain  Cook,  the  Australians  had  "  no 
idea  of  traffic,  nor,"  he  says,  "could  we  communicate  any 
to  them  :  they  received  the  things  which  we  gave  them, 
but  never  appeared  to  understand  our  signs  when  we 
required  a  return.  The  same  indifference,  which  pre- 
vented them  from  buying  what  we  had,  prevented  them 
also  from  attempting  to  steal  :  if  they  had  coveted  more, 
they  would  have  been  less  honest."  ^  In  other  parts, 
however,  they  are  more  advanced  in  this  respect. 
Various  kinds  of  pigments,  feathers,  shells,  implements, 
and  especially  flints,  are  the  principal  articles  of  barter. 

The  Australians  observed  by  Cook,  Dampier,  and 
Flinders,  were  entirely  destitute  of  clothing,  and  their 
principal  ornament  consisted  of  a  bone,  five  or  six  inches 
long,  and  half  an  inch  thick,  thrust  through  the  cartilage 
of  the  nose.  They  did  not  tattoo.  On  the  north-west 
coast.  King  observed  some  of  the  natives  with  a  very 
peculiar  decoration.  At  every  three  inches  between  the 
upper  part  of  the  chest  and  the  navel,  the  body  was 
scarified  in  horizontal  bands,  the  cicatrices  of  which  were 
at  least  an  inch  in  diameter,  and  raised  half  an  inch  from 
the  body.^  Some  of  them  fastened  to  their  hair  by  means 
of  gum,  teeth  of  kangaroos  or  of  men,  dogs'  tails,  fish- 
bones, bits  of  wood,  and  other  objects  which  they  regarded 
as  ornamental.  Sometimes  they  wore  pieces  of  opossum 
or  kangaroo  skin — not  for  decency,  but  for  warmth,  and, 
while  hunting,  as  a  protection  from  thorns.  According 
to  D'Urville,  however,  the  natives  of  New  South  Wales 
did  not  think  it  decent  that  young  children  should  go 
quite  naked.*     M'Gillivray  also  mentions  a  very  similar 

'  Savage  Life  and  Scenes^  vol.  i.  p.  112.  "-  Loc.  cit.^  p.  635. 

^  Loc.  cit.,  p.  42.  *   Voyage  de  '■'■  PAstralobe^'  vol.  i.  p.  471. 


AUSTRALIAN   ABORIGINES  449 

idea  at  Moreton  Bay.  In  many  parts  of  Australia  the 
natives  also  paint  themselves,  red  and  white  being  the 
favourite,  or  at  least  the  commonest,  colours.  The  red  is 
laid  on  in  broad  patches,  the  white  generally  in  stripes  or 
spots,  a  circle  often  being  drawn  round  each  eye.  Some 
tribes,  but  not  all,  tattoo  themselves  on  the  back  and 
breast  in  rows,  rings,  and  semicircles.  Among  the 
females  on  the  Murray,  the  only  ceremony  of  importance 
with  which  Eyre  was  acquainted,  was  that  of  scarring  the 
back.  Eyre  indeed  calls  it  tattooing,  but  "  crimping " 
would,  I  think,  be  a  more  correct  expression.  It  takes 
place  at  the  age  of  puberty,  and  is  extremely  painful. 
The  young  woman  kneels  down  and  places  her  head 
between  the  knees  of  a  strong  old  woman,  and  the 
operator,  who  is  always  a  man,  cuts  the  back  with  a  piece 
of  shell  or  flint  in  rows  of  long,  deep  gashes  from  left  to 
right  quite  across  the  back,  and  completely  up  to  the 
shoulders.  The  whole  scene  is  most  revolting  :  the 
blood  gushes  out  in  torrents,  and  saturates  the  ground, 
while  the  cries  of  the  poor  victim  gradually  rise  into 
screams  of  agony.  Still  the  girls  submit  voluntarily,  as  a 
well-carved  back  is  much  admired.  The  lads  also  gener- 
ally have  to  undergo  a  ceremony  of  initiation  before  they 
are  permitted  to  rank  as  men.  This  sometimes  consists 
in  circumcision,^  sometimes  in  another  almost  incredible 
ceremonial,^  or  frequently  in  punching  out  one  of  the 
front  teeth.  Other  tribes  have  peculiar  and  distinctive 
incisions,  such  as  scars  running  across  the  chest,  circles 
on  the  shoulders,  or  various  combinations  of  small  dots. 

The  severe  sufferings  they  inflict  on  themselves  are 
very  remarkable.  In  the  Adelaide  district,  according  to 
Mr  Moorhouse,  there  are  five  distinct  stages  of  initiation, 
before  the  native  is  admitted  to  all  the  privileges  of  a  man. 
Their  rules  and  ceremonies  are  very  elaborate,  and  are  con- 
ducted by  the  elder  men,  but  they  cannot  be  said  to  have 
any  form  of  government,  nor  have  any  distinctions  of  rank, 
or  recognised  chiefs,  ever  been  found  amongst  them. 

'   P3yre,  vol.  ii.  p.  332. 

^  Fitiditur  usque  ad  urethram  a  parte  infcrd  penis. 

29 


450  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

The  children  have  a  game  with  string  something  like 
our  cat's-cradle,  but  their  principal  amusements  consist 
in  learning  to  hunt,  fish,  etc.  The  elder  people  are  fond 
of  dances,  which  may  be  divided  into  war-dances,  hunting- 
dances,  and  love-dances — the  two  latter  being  most 
common.  These  generally  take  place  when  tribes  meet, 
and  are  held  at  night.  Their  songs  are  rude,  with  simple 
and  generally  extempore  words. 

They  have  no  systematized  religion,  nor  any  worship 
or  prayer  ;  but  most  of  them  have  an  indistinct  dread  of 
evil  beings,  which,  though  mysterious,  cannot,  I  think,  be 
said  to  be  regarded  as  supernatural.  They  all  have  a 
great  fear  of  the  dark,  and  of  witchcraft.  In  fact,  they 
believe  that  no  one  ever  dies  a  natural  death. 

Captain  Wilkes^  describes  an  Australian  funeral  as 
follows.  Almost  immediately  after  death  the  corpse  was 
arranged  in  a  sitting  posture,  the  knees  bent  up  close  to 
the  body,  the  head  pressed  forwards,  and  the  whole  body 
closely  tied  up  in  a  blanket.  An  oval  grave  was  then 
dug,  about  six  feet  long,  three  wide,  and  five  deep.  At 
the  bottom  was  a  bed  of  leaves,  covered  with  an  opossum- 
skin  cloak,  and  with  a  stuffed  bag  of  kangaroo-skin  for  a 
pillow  ;  on  this  the  body  was  laid  with  its  implements 
and  weapons.  Above  the  corpse  were  strewn  leaves  and 
branches,  and  the  hole  was  then  filled  up  with  stones. 
Finally,  the  earth  which  had  been  removed  was  put  over 
the  whole,  making  a  mound  eight  or  nine  feet  high. 
According  to  D'Urville,  the  natives  of  New  South  Wales 
bury  the  young,  and  burn  the  old."  Other  tribes  dispose 
of  their  dead  in  other  ways  ;  but  none  of  them  were 
addicted  to  cannibalism  as  a  matter  of  habit  or  choice, 
although  they  were  not  unfrequently  driven  to  it  by  the 
scarcity  of  other  food,  and  sometimes  ate  portions  of 
enemies  whom  they  had  slain. 

No  single  fact,  perhaps,  gives  us  a  more  vivid  idea  of 
the  low  condition  of  these  miserable  savages  than  the 
observation  that  they  have  no  numerals  enabling  them  to 
count  their  own  fingers — not  even    those  of  one   hand. 

'  Lc.^  vol.  ii.  p.  195  ;  Fitzroy,  I.e.,  vol.  ii.  p.  628.  ^  Vol.  i  p.  472. 


AUSTRALIAN   ABORIGINES  451 

Mr  Crawfurd  ^  has  examined  the  numerals  of  thirty- 
Australian  languages,  "  and  in  no  instance  do  they  appear 
to  go  beyond  the  number  four."  Mr  Scott  Nind,  indeed, 
has  given  an  account  of  the  Australians  of  King  George's 
Sound,  to  which  a  vocabulary  is  annexed,  containing  the 
numerals,  which  are  made  to  reach  the  number  five. 
The  term  for  this  last  unit,  however,  turns  out  to  be  only 
the  word  "  many."  In  fact,  the  word  "  five  "  is  used  by 
them  to  express  the  idea  of  a  great  number,  just  as  a 
"  thousand  "  sometimes  is  by  us. 

Their  language,  moreover,  contains  "  no  generic  terms, 
as  tree,  fish,  birds,  etc.,  but  only  specific  ones,  as  applied 
to  each  particular  variety."  ^ 

Though  they  are  apparently  fond  of  their  children, 
even  Eyre  admits  that  there  is  little  affection  between 
husband  and  wife.  "  After  a  long  absence,"  he  says,  "  I 
have  seen  natives  upon  their  return  go  to  their  camp,  ex- 
hibiting the  most  stoical  indifference,  never  take  the  least 
notice  of  their  wives,  but  sit  down,  and  act  and  look  as  if 
they  had  never  been  out  of  the  encampment."  ^  Women, 
in  fact,  are  regarded  as  mere  property.  "  No  one,"  says 
Eyre,  "ever  attempts  to  take  the  part  of  a  female."* 
Beauty  only  makes  matters  worse.  "The  early  life," 
says  Sir  G.  Grey,  "  of  a  young  woman  at  all  celebrated 
for  beauty  is  generally  one  continued  series  of  captivity 
to  different  masters,  of  ghastly  wounds,  rapid  flights,  and 
bad  treatment  from  other  females "  ^  jealous  of  her 
superior  attractions.  Few  women  in  Australia,  it  is  said, 
live  to  thirty.  Yet  with  all  this  lawlessness  and  tyranny, 
marriage  is  regulated  by  certain  very  curious  prohibitions. 
Thus  a  man  may  steal  another  man's  wife  if  he  can  ;  but, 
as  already  mentioned,  he  may  not  under  any  circumstances 
marry  a  woman  of  the  same  clan,  even  though  not  related 
in  the  remotest  degree.  There  are  certain  great  families, 
such  as  the  Ballaroke,  Tdondarup,  Ngotak,  Nagarnook, 
Nogonyuk,  Mongalmy,  and  Narrangur,  which  occur  over 

*   Transactions  of  Ethn.  Soc.^  New  Series,  vol.  ii.  p.  84. 

'■^  Eyre,  vol.  ii.  p.  392.  ^  L.c.^  pp.  2,  215,  also  p.  320. 

■•  L.c,  vol.  ii.  p.  387.  ^  L.c.^  vol.  ii.  p.  249. 


452  PREHISTORIC  TIMES 

a  great  portion  of  the  continent,  and  within  which  marriage 
is  not  permitted.^  Every  tribe  is  divided  into  clans,  and 
no  man  may  marry  a  woman  belonging  to  his  own  clan. 
On  the  other  hand,  in  one  sense  every  man  is  regarded 
as  a  husband  of  every  woman  belonging  to  any  clan 
into  which  he  may  legally  marry.  These  "  communal 
marriages,"  however,  as  1  have  elsewhere  proposed  to  call 
them,  are  often  more  or  less  theoretical,  and  a  man  has 
also  his  own  special  wife  or  wives,  but  even  as  regards 
them  other  men  have  certain  curiously  regulated  rights.^ 
There  are  many  other  cases  of  prohibitions  ;  "  indeed," 
says  Mr  Lang,^  "instead  of  enjoying  perfect  personal 
freedom,  as  it  would  at  first  appear,  they  are  governed  by 
a  code  of  rules  and  a  set  of  customs  which  form  one  of 
the  most  cruel  tyrannies  that  has  ever,  perhaps,  existed  on 
the  face  of  the  earth,  subjecting  not  only  the  will,  but  the 
property  and  life  of  the  weak  to  the  dominion  of  the 
strong.  The  whole  tendency  of  the  system  is  to  give 
everything  to  the  strong  and  old,  to  the  prejudice  of  the 
weak  and  young,  and  more  particularly  to  the  detriment 
of  the  women.  They  have  rules  by  which  the  best  food, 
the  best  pieces,  the  best  animals,  etc.,  are  prohibited  to 
the  women  and  young  men,  and  reserved  for  the  old. 
The  women  are  generally  appropriated  to  the  old  and 
powerful,  some  of  whom  possess  from  four  to  seven 
wives  ;  while  wives  are  altogether  denied  to  young  men, 
unless  they  have  sisters  to  give  in  exchange,  and  are 
strong  and  courageous  enough  to  prevent  their  sisters 
from  being  taken  without  exchange."  They  have  also 
very  long  and  elaborate  ceremonies.* 

The   Tasmanians 

The  inhabitants  of  Van   Diemen's  Land  belonged  to 
quite  a  different  race,  but  were  just  as  wretched  as  those 

^  Eyre,  vol.   ii.   p.  329.      For  further   particulars,  see   my    Origin   of 
Civilisation. 
^  Spencer  and  Gillen,  Native  Tribes  of  Central  Australia^  p.  62. 
^  The  Aborigines  of  Australia,  G.  S.  Lang,  p.  7. 
^  Spencer  and  Gillen,  Native  Tribes  of  Central  Australia,  p.  272. 


THE   TASMANIANS 


453 


of  Australia.     According  to  Captain  Cook's  account,  they 

had   no    houses,   no   clothes,    no    canoes,   no   instrument 

to  catch  large   fish,  no   nets,   no   hooks  ;   they  lived   on 

mussels,  cockles,  and  periwinkles,  and  their 

only  weapon  was  a  straight  pole,  sharpened 

at  one  end.^     Mr  Dove  informs  us  that  they 

are  entirely  without  any  "  moral  views  and 

impressions."     Indeed,    he    scarcely  appears 

to  regard  them  as  rational  beings.*     Milligan 

states  that  they  believed  in  the  existence  of 

a  number  of  mischievous  spirits  who  lived  in 

caverns,  or  the  dark  recesses  of  the  forest  ; 

and   that  after   death    their   spirits   went   to 

England. 

Dr  Nixon,  the  first  Bishop  of  Tasmania, 
made  careful  inquiries  on  the  subject,  and 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  "  No  trace  can 
be  found  of  the  existence  of  any  religious 
usage,  or  even  sentiment  among  them."  ^ 
Like  the  Australians,  they  have  no  means 
of  expressing  abstract  ideas  ;  they  have  not 
even  a  word  for  a  "  tree."  Although  fire 
was  well  known  to  them,  some  tribes,  at 
least,  appear  to  have  been  ignorant  whence 
it  was  originally  obtained,  or  how,  if  ex- 
tinguished, it  could  be  relighted.  "  In  all 
their  wanderings,"  says  Mr  Dove,  "  they 
were  particularly  careful  to  bear  in  their 
hands  the  materials  for  kindling  a  fire. 
Their  memory  supplies  them  with  no  in- 
stances of  a  period  in  which  they  were 
obliged  to  draw  on  their  inventive  powers 
for  the  means  of  resuscitating  an  element  so 
essential  to  their  health  and  comfort  as  flame.  How 
it    came    originally    into    their    possession    is    unknown. 


Fig.  264.— Tas- 
manian  fire- 
sticks,  one- 
third  actual 
size. 


'   Third  Voyage^  vol.  i.  p.  100. 
-  Tasmanianjour.  oj  Nat.  Set'.,  vol.  i.  p.  249. 

^  See  also  Bonwick,  Daily  Life  of  the  Tasnianians.,  p.  166  ;  H.  Ling 
Roth,  The  Tastnanians.,  p.  66. 


454  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

Whether  it  may  be  viewed  as  a  gift  of  nature,  or  the 
product  of  art  and  sagacity,  they  cannot  recollect  a  period 
when  it  was  a  desideratum.  ...  It  was  the  part  of  the 
females  especially  to  carry  a  firebrand  in  their  hands, 
which  was  studiously  refreshed  from  time  to  time  as  it 
became  dull  and  evanescent."^  Fig.  264  represents  a 
pair  of  Tasmanian  firesticks,  presented  to  me  by  Mr 
Robinson.  The  Tasmanians  did  not  use  either  the 
boomerang  or  the  throwing-stick.^ 


Fiji  Islanders 

The  islands  of  the  Pacific  contain  two  very  distinct 
races  of  men — the  Negrito  and  the  Polynesian.  My 
space  does  not  permit  me  to  enter  into  the  interesting 
question  of  their  relationships  and  affinities. 

The  Fijians  belong  to  the  former  category,  though 
probably  with  some  infusion  of  Polynesian  blood,  and  in 
many  respects  resemble  Negroes.  They  are  darker  than 
the  Polynesians.  The  jaws  are  larger,  and  the  hair, 
though  not  exactly  woolly,  is  frizzled.  They  are  a 
powerful  race,  but  not  so  graceful  as  the  Polynesians. 
Their  language  is,  however,  more  Polynesian  than  Negrito. 
Their  institutions,  customs,  and  manners  were  partly 
Polynesian,  partly  Negrito.^  It  is  remarkable  that  they 
did  not  use  the  consonants  "  b,"  "  d,"  or  "  g,"  without 
placing  "  m  "  or  "  n  "  before  them,  as  for  instance,  Mbau, 
Nduandua,  Ngata.  It  is  well  known  how  frequent  these 
sounds  are  in  Negro  names. 

The  food  of  the  Fiji  Islanders  consisted  of  fish,  turtle, 
shellfish,  crabs,  human  flesh  whenever  it  could  be 
obtained,  taro,  yams,  mandrai,  bananas,  and  cocoa-nuts  ; 
in  addition  to  which  the  higher  classes  occasionally 
indulged  in  pigs  and  fowls.  They  drank  ava  habitually, 
and  at  all  their  ceremonies. 

Their  weapons  consisted  of  spears,  slings,  clubs,  bows 

'  Tasmanian  Journal  of  Nat.  Set.,  vol.  i.  p.  250. 
'^  Bonwick,  Daily  Life  oj  the  Tasmanians,  p.  43. 
^  Latham,  Varieties  of  Alan,  y^.  226. 


THE    FIJI    ISLANDERS  455 

and  arrows.  The  spears  were  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet 
long,  and  were  generally  made  of  cocoa-nut  wood  ;  the 
end  was  pointed  and  charred  ;  sometimes,  though  not 
often,  a  sharp  bone  was  used  for  the  point.  They  had 
several  kinds  of  clubs,  all  made  of  ironwood.  That  most 
esteemed  was  about  three  feet  long,  with  a  heavy  knob  at 
the  end.  Another  kind  was  somewhat  shovel-shaped,  and 
might  rather  be  called  a  short  sword.  The  ula  was  a  short 
heavy  club,  about  eighteen  inches  long,  with  a  large  and 
heavy  knob.  It  was  used  as  a  missile,  and  the  natives 
threw  it  with  great  accuracy  and  force.  These  were  their 
principal  weapons,  the  bows  and  arrows  being  weak  and 
light.  They  were,  however,  used  in  war,  as  well  as  in 
killing  fish.  The  fortified  towns  of  the  Fijians  had  an 
earthen  "  rampart,  about  six  feet  thick,  faced  with  large 
stones,  surmounted  by  a  reed  fence  of  cocoa-nut  trunks, 
and  surrounded  by  a  muddy  moat."  ^ 

Their  houses  were  oblong,  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet 
long,  and  fifteen  feet  high.  They  were  made  of  cocoa- 
nut  wood  and  tree  fern,  and  were  sometimes  very  well 
built.  They  had  two  doorways  on  opposite  sides,  from 
three  to  four  feet  high  and  four  feet  wide.  The  sides 
were  made  of  posts  about  three  feet  apart,  and  filled  in 
with  wicker  work.  The  roof  had  a  steep  pitch  ;  the 
rafters  were  generally  of  palm  wood,  thatched  with  wild 
sugar-cane,  under  which  they  placed  fern  leaves.  A 
mat  served  as  a  door,  and  a  few  flat  stones  near  the 
middle  of  the  house  served  as  the  fireplace.  The  houses 
were  seldom  divided  by  partitions,  but  the  two  ends  were 
raised  about  a  foot,  and  were  covered  with  layers  of  mats 
on  which  the  natives  slept. 

Their  temples  were  pyramidal  in  form,  and  were 
often  erected  on  terraced  mounds,  like  those  of  Central 
America."  They  also  venerated  certain  upright  stones,^ 
resembling  those  which  we  call  Druidical.  "  The 
Feegeeans,"  says  Mr  Hazlewood,  "  consider  the  gods  as 

*  Williams,  I'ii^i  and  the  Fit^ians.  vol.  i.  p.  48. 

^  13.  Seemann,  in  the  Vacation  ToKrist  iox  1861,  p.  269. 

^  I'igi  and  the  /'igians,  vol.  i.  p.  220. 


456  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

beings  of  like  passions  with  themselves.  They  love  and 
hate  ;  they  are  proud  and  revengeful,  and  make  war,  and 
kill  and  eat  each  other  ;  and  are,  in  fact,  savages  and 
cannibals  like  themselves."  "  Cruelty,"  says  Captain 
Erskine,^  "  a  craving  for  blood,  and  especially  for  human 
flesh  as  food,  are  characteristic  of  the  gods."  Yet  the 
Fijians  looked  upon  the  Samoans  with  horror,  regarding 
them  as  having  no  religion,  because  they  had  no  belief 
in  any  such  deities,  nor  any  of  the  sanguinary  rites  which 
prevailed  in  other  islands. 

The  Fiji  canoes  were  large  and  well  constructed.  They 
were  generally  double,  of  unequal  size,  the  smaller  one 
serving  as  an  outrigger.  The  larger  ones  were  sometimes 
more  than  a  hundred  feet  in  length.  The  two  canoes 
were  connected  by  a  platform,  generally  about  fifteen  feet 
wide,  and  projecting  two  or  three  feet  beyond  the  sides. 
The  bottom  of  each  consisted  of  a  single  plank  ;  the  sides 
were  fitted  by  dovetailing,  and  closely  united  by  lashings 
passed  through  flanges  left  on  each  of  the  pieces.  The 
joints  were  closed  by  the  gum  of  the  bread-fruit  tree. 
The  sails  were  large  and  made  of  mats.  The  mast  was 
generally  about  half  the  length  of  the  canoe,  and  the  yard 
and  boom  usually  twice  as  long  as  the  mast.  Their 
principal  tool  was  an  adze,  formerly  of  stone,  but  now 
generally  of  iron.  For  boring  holes  they  used  the  long 
spines  of  the  echina,  pointed  bones,  and,  when  they 
could  get  them,  nails.  Small  teeth,  such  as  those  of  rats 
and  mice,  were  used  for  carving  ;  and  their  knives  were 
made  of  the  outside  of  a  piece  of  bamboo,  shaped  into 
form  while  green.  After  being  dried,  it  was  charred, 
and  thus  became  very  hard  and  sharp,  so  that  it  might 
even  be  used  in  surgical  operations.  They  differed  from 
the  Polynesians  in  using  earthenware  pots  for  cooking. 
These  were  graceful  and  well  made,  though  the  potter's- 
wheel  was  unknown.  The  pottery  was  all  made  by 
women.  Their  tools  were  very  simple,  consisting  of  a 
small  round  flat  stone  to  fashion  the  inside,  and  a  flat 
mallet  or  spatula  for  the  surface,  which  they  made  almost 

'  Journal  of  a  Cruise  in  the  Western  Pacific^  p.  247. 


THE   FIJI    ISLANDERS  457 

as  round  as  if  it  had  been  turned  in  a  lathe.  Forks 
appear  to  have  been  long  in  use  among  the  Fijians  ;  a 
remarkable  fact,  if  we  remember  that  they  were  unknown 
in  Northern  Europe  until  the  seventeenth  century. 

The  Fijians  have  several  kinds  of  games.  They  are 
fond  of  swinging,  and  of  throwing  stones  or  fruits  at  a 
mark.  They  have  also  a  game  resembling  skittles. 
Their  dances,  like  those  of  so  many  other  nations,  are 
anything  but  decorous.  Their  musical  instruments  are 
the  conch-shell,  the  nose-flute,  pipes,  a  Jew's-harp  made 
of  a  strip  of  bamboo,  and  several  sorts  of  drums.  They 
are  also  fond  of  poetry. 

Their  agricultural  implements  have  been  described  by 
Mr  Williams.  The  digging-sticks  are  made  of  a  young 
mangrove-tree.  They  are  about  the  size  of  an  ordinary 
hay-fork,  and  the  lower  end  "  is  tapered  off  on  one  side, 
after  the  shape  of  a  quill  toothpick.  In  digging,  this 
flattened  side  is  kept  downwards.  When  preparing  a 
piece  of  ground  for  yams,  a  number  of  men  are  employed, 
divided  into  groups  of  three  or  four.  Each  man  being 
furnished  with  a  digging-stick,  they  drive  them  into  the 
ground  so  as  to  enclose  a  circle  of  about  two  feet  in 
diameter.  When,  by  repeated  strokes,  the  sticks  reach 
the  depth  of  eighteen  inches,  they  are  used  as  levers, 
and  the  mass  of  soil  between  them  is  thus  loosened  and 
raised."  ^  The  clods  are  then  broken  up  by  boys  with 
short  sticks.  Weeding  "  is  accomplished  by  means  of  a 
tool  used  like  a  Dutch  hoe,  the  workman  squatting  so  as 
bring  the  handle  nearly  level  with  the  ground.  The 
blade  used  formerly  to  be  made  of  a  bone  from  the  back 
of  a  turtle,  or  a  plate  of  tortoise-shell,  or  the  valve  of  a 
large  oyster,  or  large  kind  of  pinna.  In  the  Windward 
Islands  they  use  a  large  dibble,  eight  feet  long,  about 
eighteen  inches  in  circumference,  and  tapering  to  a  point. 
They  had  also  pruning  knives  of"  tortoise-shell  lashed 
to  the  end  of  a  rod  ten  feet  long.  They  are  skilful  in 
basket-making,  and  have  good  strong  nets  made  of 
creepers  or  of  sinnet. 

'   Figi  and  the  Figians,  vol.  i.  p.  63. 


458  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

The  women  are  kept  in  great  subjection.  "The  men 
frequently  tie  them  up  and  flog  them.  Like  other 
property,  wives  might  be  sold  at  pleasure,  and  the  usual 
price  is  a  musket.  Those  who  purchase  them  may  do 
with  them  as  they  please,  even  to  knocking  them  on 
the  head."  Erskine,  however,  gives  a  more  satisfactory 
account  of  the  position  held  by  the  women  ;  and  it 
appears  that  they  are  on  the  whole  more  chaste  than 
is  the  case  in  some  of  the  other  Pacific  Islands,  which 
is  saying  something  for  them,  but  certainly  not  much. 
Although  so  lax  in  some  things,  they  were  very  strict 
in  others,  and  it  was  thought  improper  in  some  of  these 
islands  for  husband  and  wife  to  spend  the  night  under 
the  same  roof. 

Although  but  scantily  clothed,  the  Fijians  were  very 
particular  about  their  garments  and  their  paint.  They 
were  specially  proud  of  their  hair,  and  if  it  was  short 
they  wore  a  wig  as  a  substitute.  Some  of  these  wigs 
were  most  elaborate.  The  men  wore  "  tapa,"  which  is  a 
kind  of  cloth  obtained  from  the  inner  bark  of  the  paper- 
mulberry,  and  made  into  a  sash,  from  three  to  one 
hundred  yards  in  length.  Six  or  ten  yards  is,  however, 
the  usual  quantity,  and  it  is  passed  between  the  legs  and 
round  the  waist.^  The  women  are  not  permitted  to  use 
"  tapa,"  and  their  dress  is  more  scanty  than  that  of  the 
men,  consisting,  indeed,  only  of  the  "  liku,"  a  kind  of 
band,  made  of  the  bark  of  the  hibiscus,  and  fastened 
round  the  waist.  It  ends  in  a  fringe,  which  is  worn 
short  by  the  girls,  but  longer  after  marriage.  Neverthe- 
less, though  almost  naked,  the  Fijians  are  said  to  have 
been  very  modest,  and  if  anyone  were  found  entirely 
without  clothes.  Captain  Wilkes  thinks  that  the  offender 
would  be  immediately  put  to  death. 

Tattooing  is  confined  to  the  women,  who  are  orna- 
mented in  this  manner  on  the  fingers,  the  corners  of  the 
mouth,  and,  oddly  enough,  on  those  parts  of  the  body 
which  are  covered  by  the  "  liku."  The  process  is  very 
painful,  but  submission  to  it  is  regarded  as  a  religious 

'  Figi  and  the  Figians^  vol.  i.  p.  156. 


THE    FIJI    ISLANDERS  459 

duty/  any  neglect  of  which  will  assuredly  be  punished 
after  death.* 

The  graves  of  the  common  people  are  only  marked 
by  a  few  stones,  but  over  those  of  chiefs  they  build 
small  houses,  from  two  to  six  feet  high,  or  in  some 
cases  erect  large  cairns  of  stone  ;  these  also  are  some- 
times "  set  up  to  mark  the  spot  where  a  man  has 
died."^  The  body  is  buried  in  a  sitting  posture.  The 
usual  sign  of  mourning  is  to  crop  the  hair  or  beard, 
or  both.  Very  often,  also,  they  burn  the  skin  into 
blisters,  and  cut  off  the  end-joints  of  the  small  toe  and 
little  finger. 

Among  the  Fijians,  parricide  is  not  a  crime  but  a 
custom.  They  believe  that  "  as  they  die,  such  will  be 
their  condition  in  the  next  world."  Moreover,  the  road 
to  Mbulu  is  long  and  difficult.  Hence  it  would  be  cruel 
to  allow  a  beloved  relative  to  become  old  and  infirm. 
We  are  assured  that  so  deeply  rooted  was  this  conviction, 
that  as  a  matter  of  fact  parents  were  generally  killed  by 
their  children.  Sometimes  the  aged  people  make  up 
their  minds  that  it  is  time  to  die  ;  sometimes  it  is  the 
children  who  give  notice  to  their  parents  that  they  are  a 
burden  to  them.  In  either  case,  the  friends  and  relatives 
are  summoned,  a  consultation  takes  place,  and  a  day  is 
fixed  for  the  ceremony,  which  commences  with  a  great 
feast.  The  missionaries  have  often  witnessed  these 
horrible  tragedies.  On  one  occasion  a  young  man 
invited  Mr  Hunt  to  attend  his  mother's  funeral,  which 
was  just  going  to  take  place.  Mr  Hunt  accepted  the 
invitation  ;  but  when  the  funeral  procession  started,  he 
was  surprised  to  see  no  corpse,  and  accordingly  made 
inquiries,  when  the  young  savage  "  pointed  out  his 
mother,*  who  was  walking  along  with  them  as  gay  and 
lively  as  any  of  them  present,  and  apparently  as  much 
pleased.  .  .  .  He  added  that  it  was  from  love  for  his 
mother  that  he  had  done  so  ;  that  in  consequence  of  the 

'  Figi  and  the  Fii^ians,  vol.  i.  p.  i6o  ;  Wilkes,  I.e.,  p.  355. 

-  A  Mission  to  Viti,  p.  ii2. 

■*  Fi^  and  the  Fijians,  vol.  i.  p.  192.  ^  Wilkes,  I.e.,  p.  95. 


460  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

same  love,  they  were  now  going  to  bury  her,  and  that 
none  but  themselves  could  or  ought  to  do  so  sacred  an 
office.  .  .  .  She  was  their  mother,  and  they  were  her 
children,  and  they  ought  to  put  her  to  death."  In  such  cases, 
the  grave  is  dug  about  four  feet  deep,  the  relatives  and 
friends  begin  their  lamentations,  take  an  affectionate 
parting,  and  bury  the  poor  victim  alive.  It  is  surprising 
after  this  to  hear  that  Mr  Hunt  regarded  the  Fijians  as 
being  kind  and  affectionate  to  their  parents  ;  but  in  fact 
"  they  consider  this  custom  so  great  a  proof  of  affection, 
that  none  but  children  could  be  found  to  perform  it." 
So  general  in  fact  was  this  custom,  so  powerful  the 
influence  which  it  had  upon  them,  that  in  one  town, 
containing  several  hundred  inhabitants.  Captain  Wilkes 
did  not  see  one  man  over  forty  years  of  age  ;  and,  on 
asking  for  the  old  people,  he  was  informed  that  they 
were  all  buried.  Again,  during  the  first  year  of  Mr 
Hunt's  residence  at  Somo-somo,  there  was  only  one 
instance  of  natural  death,  all  the  aged  and  diseased 
having  been  strangled  or  buried  alive. 

When  a  chief  died,  it  was  usual  to  "  send  with  him  " 
some  of  his  women  and  some  slaves.  At  the  death  of 
Ngavindi,  Mr  Calvert  went  to  Mbau  hoping  "to  prevent 
the  strangling  of  women,  but  was  too  late.  Three  had 
been  murdered.  Thakombau  proposed  to  strangle  his 
sister,  the  chief  wife  of  the  deceased,  as  was  the  usual 
custom  ;  but  the  Lasakau  people  begged  that  she  might 
be  spared,  and  that  her  child  might  become  their  chief. 
Ngavindi's  mother  offered  herself  as  a  substitute,  and 
was  strangled.  The  dead  chief  lay  in  state,  with  a  dead 
wife  by  his  side,  on  a  raised  platform  ;  the  corpse  of  his 
mother  on  a  bier  at  his  feet,  and  a  murdered  servant  on 
a  mat  in  the  midst  of  the  house.  A  large  grave  was  dug 
in  the  foundation  of  a  house  near  by,  in  which  the 
servant  was  laid  first,  and  upon  her  the  other  three 
corpses,  wrapped  and  wound  up  together."  ^  In  these 
cases  the  wives  generally  die  voluntarily,  believing  that 
thus  only  can  they  hope  to  go  to  heaven.  Horrible  as 
'  Figi  and  the  Figiaits,  vol.  ii.  p.  301. 


THE   FIJI    ISLANDERS  461 

are  these  facts,  they  at  least  show  how  strong  must  be 
the  belief  felt  in  a  future  state  of  existence. 

Still,  though  we  may  allow  the  goodness  of  the  motive 
to  extenuate  some  of  these  atrocities,  it  must  be  allowed 
that  human  life  was  but  little  regarded  in  Fiji.  Not 
only  infanticide,  but  also  human  sacrifices,  were  very 
common,  and,  in  fact,  scarcely  anything  was  undertaken 
without  the  latter.  When  the  king  launched  a  canoe, 
ten  or  more  men  were  slaughtered  on  the  deck,  in  order 
that  it  might  be  washed  with  human  blood.  But  there 
is  even  worse  to  be  told.  The  Fijians  were  most  in- 
veterate cannibals,  and  so  fond  were  they  of  human 
flesh,  that  "  the  greatest  praise  they  can  bestow  on  any 
delicacy  is  to  say  that  it  is  as  tender  as  a  dead  man." 
Nay,  they  were  even  so  fastidious  as  to  dislike  the  taste 
of  white  men,^  to  prefer  the  flesh  of  women  to  that  of 
men,  and  to  consider  the  arm  above  the  elbow  and  the 
thigh  as  the  best  joints  ;  and  so  greedy,  that  human  flesh 
was  reserved  for  the  men,  being  considered  too  good  to 
be  wasted  upon  the  women.  When  the  king  gave  a 
feast,  human  flesh  always  formed  one  of  the  dishes,  and 
though  the  bodies  of  enemies  slain  in  battle  were  always 
eaten,  they  did  not  afford  a  sufficient  supply,  but  slaves 
were  fattened  up  for  the  market.  Sometimes  they 
roasted  them  alive  and  ate  them  at  once,  while  at  others 
they  kept  bodies  until  they  were  far  gone  in  decay, 
Ra  Undre-undre,  Chief  of  Rakiraki,  was  said  to  have 
eaten  nine  hundred  persons  himself,  permitting  no  one 
to  share  them  with  him.^ 

It  was  not  from  any  want  of  food  that  the  Fijians 
were  cannibals.  On  one  occasion  they  offered  to  the 
God  of  War  "  ten  thousand  yams  (weighing  from  six  to 
twelve  pounds  each),  thirty  turtles,  forty  roots  of  yaquona 
(some  very  large),  many  hundreds  of  native  puddings 
(two  tons),  one  hundred  and  fifty  giant  oysters,  fifteen 
water-melons,  cocoa-nuts,  a  large  number  of  violet  land- 
crabs,  taro,  and  ripe  bananas."^     At  a  public  feast  Mr 

•  So  also  did  the  Australians,  the  Tongans,  and  the  New  Zealanders. 
-'  I'igi  and  the  Figians^  vol.  i.  p.  213.  ^  Ibid.,  vol.  i   p.  44. 


462  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

Williams  once  saw  "  two  hundred  men  employed  for 
nearly  six  hours  in  collecting  and  piling  cooked  food. 
There  were  six  mounds  of  yams,  taro,  vakalolo,  pigs, 
and  turtles  :  these  contained  about  fifty  tons  of  cooked 
yams  and  taro,  fifteen  tons  of  sweet  pudding,  seventy 
turtles,  five  cartloads  of  yaquona,  and  about  two  hundred 
tons  of  uncooked  yams.  One  pudding,  at  a  Lakemba 
feast,  measured  twenty-one  feet  in  circumference."  Yet 
so  habitual  has  cannibalism  become,  that  they  have  no 
word  for  a  corpse  which  does  not  include  the  idea  of 
something  edible.  Human  flesh  is  known  as  "  puaka 
balava,"  or  "long  pig."  ^  "On  contemplating  the  char- 
acter of  this  extraordinary  people,"  says  Erskine,^  "  the 
mind  is  struck  with  wonder  and  awe  at  the  mixture 
of  a  complicated  and  carefully-conducted  political  system, 
highly  finished  manners,  and  ceremonious  politeness, 
with  a  ferocity  and  practice  of  savage  vices  which  is 
probably  unparalleled  in  any  other  part  of  the  world." 
"  Murder,"  says  Mr  Williams,  "  is  not  an  occasional  thing 
in  Figi,  but  habitual,  systematic,  and  classed  among 
ordinary  transactions."  ^  Elsewhere  he  tells  us  that  no 
Fijian  ever  feels  safe  with  a  stranger  at  his  heels,*  and  that 
to  be  "an  acknowledged  murderer  is  the  object  of  the 
Figian's  restless  ambition."  ^  On  the  island  of  Vanua 
Levu,  even  among  the  women,  there  were  "  few  who  had 
not  in  some  way  been  murderers."  ^  To  this  they  are 
trained  up  from  infancy.  "  One  of  the  first  lessons 
taught  the  infant  is  to  strike  its  mother."  At  Somo-somo, 
Mr  Williams  saw  mothers  leading  their  children  "  to  kick 
and  tread  upon  the  dead  bodies  of  enemies."  ^  No  wonder 
that  under  these  circumstances  "  a  happy  and  united 
household  is  most  rare."  Indeed,  it  is  nearly  impossible, 
for    by    an  arrangement  which  seems  almost  incredible, 

1  Erskine,  l.c.^  p.  260.  Other  mammalia,  when  introduced  into  the 
South  Sea  Islands,  received  names  indicative  of  their  similarity  to  this 
their  principal  c|uadruped  :  thus  the  horse  was  called  the  "  man-carrying 
pig"  in  Tahiti;  the  sheep  was  the  "hog  with  teeth  on  its  forehead'' 
(Forster,  /.<:.,  p.  384). 

"  Erskine,  l.c.^  p.  272.  ^  Figi  and  the  Figians,  vol.  i.  p.  134. 

*  Z.f.,  p.  133.  6  L.c,  p.  112. 

^  Z.c,  p.  180.  ''  L.c,  p.  177. 


THE    MAORIES  463 

"  brothers  and  sisters,  first  cousins,  fathers  and  sons-in- 
law,  mothers  and  daughters-in-law,  and  brothers  and 
sisters-in-law,  are  severally  forbidden  to  speak  to  each 
other,  or  to  eat  from  the  same  dish."  ^  Yet  amid  so 
much  that  is  horrible,  there  is  still  something  in  the 
Fijian  which  redeems  his  character  from  utter  atrocity. 
If  he  hates  deeply,  he  also  loves  truly  ;  if  his  revenge 
never  dies,  his  fidelity  and  loyalty  are  strong  and  endur- 
ing. Thakombau  was  a  thorough  Fijian.  Almost  to  the 
last  he  opposed  the  missionaries.  He  was  not  only 
heathen,  but  anti-Christian.  At  length  being  converted, 
he  called  his  people  together,  and,  says  Mr  Calvert, 
"  What  a  congregation  he  had  ! — husbands  whose  wives 
he  had  dishonoured  !  widows  whose  husbands  he  had 
slain  !  sisters  whose  relatives  had  been  strangled  by  his 
orders  !  relatives  whose  friends  he  had  eaten  !  and 
children,  the  descendants  of  those  he  had  murdered,  and 
who  had  vowed  to  avenge  the  wrongs  inflicted  on  their 
fathers  !  "  ^  Yet  even  this  man — an  adulterer,  a  parricide, 
and  a  cannibal,  whose  hands  were  stained  with  a  hundred 
murders — had  still  something  noble  and  lovable  about 
him  ;  so  much  so,  indeed,  that,  in  spite  of  his  crimes,  he 
secured  the  affection,  the  friendship,  even  the  respect,  of 
a  man  so  excellent  as  Mr  Calvert. 

The  Maories 

The  New  Zealanders  are  the  southernmost  representa- 
tives of  the  great  Polynesian  family.  Their  principal  food 
consisted  of  fern  roots,  which  they  scorched  over  the  fire, 
and  then  beat  with  a  stick,  till  the  bark  and  dry  outside 
fell  off ;  the  remainder  being  a  soft  substance,  rather 
clammy  and  sweet,  not  unpleasant  to  the  taste,  but  mixed 
with  numerous  stringy  fibres  which  are  very  disagreeable.^ 
In  the  northern  districts  were  large  plantations  of  yams 
and  sweet  potatoes.  They  also  cultivated  gourds,  which 
were  used  for  vessels,  as  they  had  no  pottery.     Their  only 

'   Figi  and  the  Ftj^tans,  vol.  i.,  p.  136.  ^  L.c,  vol.  ii.  p.  357. 

^  Dicffenbaclrs  Neio  Zealand,  vol.  ii.  p.  11. 


464  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

instrument  for  tillage  was  "  a  long  narrow  stake  sharpened 
to  an  edge  at  one  end,  with  a  short  piece  fastened  trans- 
versely at  a  little  distance  above  it,  for  the  convenience  of 
pressing  it  down  with  the  foot."  Their  animal  food 
consisted  principally  of  fish  and  shell-fish,  and  Captain 
Cook  observed  large  shell-mounds  near  their  houses. 
They  sometimes  also,  though  rarely,  killed  rails,  penguins, 
shags,  and  other  birds.  They  obtained  fire  from  two 
pieces  of  wood  in  the  usual  manner.^  A  New  Zealand 
stone  adze  is  represented  in  figs.  120-122. 

The  only  quadrupeds  in  the  islands  were  dogs  and  rats. 
They  had  no  hogs,  and  the  dogs  were  kept  entirely  for 
food.  They  were  skilful  in  fishing,  having  excellent 
lines,  hooks  made  of  bone  and  shell,  and  very  large  nets, 
which  were  made  of  the  leaves  of  the  so-called  New 
Zealand  flax,  a  plant  allied  to  the  Lilies,  split  into  strips 
of  the  proper  breadth  and  tied  together.  In  making  the 
lines  the  leaves  are  "  scraped  by  a  shell,  which  removes 
the  upper  or  green  part,  and  leaves  the  strong  white  fibres, 
that  run  longitudinally  along  the  under  side."  ^  This 
kind  of  cordage  has  even  been  preferred  to  that  made  of 
European  hemp. 

Of  these  leaves  also  they  made  most  of  their  clothes, 
for,  though  acquainted  with  the  manufacture  of  bark-cloth, 
it  was  very  scarce,  and  worn  only  as  an  ornament.  The 
leaves  were  split  into  three  or  four  slips,  which  were 
interwoven  into  a  kind  of  stuff,  something  between 
netting  and  cloth.  Dog's  wool  was  also  used  for  the 
same  purpose.^  The  dress  was  alike  in  both  sexes,  and 
consisted  of  two  parts  ;  one  piece  of  their  rude  cloth  (if 
so  it  may  be  called)  was  tied  over  the  shoulders  and 
reached  to  the  knees,  being  fastened  in  front  by  a  piece  of 
string  or  a  bone  bodkin  ;  the  other  piece  was  wrapped 
round  the  waist,  and  reached  nearly  to  the  ground.  This 
garment,  however,  was  worn  by  the  men  only  on  parti- 
cular occasions. 

1  D'Urville,  vol.  ii.  p.  479. 

2  Fitzroy's  Voyage  of  the  '■'•Adventure^''  and  ^''  Beagle"  vol.  ii.  p.  599. 

3  D'Urville,  vol.  ii.  p.  500. 


THE   MAORIES  465 

For  ornament  they  wore  combs  of  wood  or  bone, 
feathers,  necklaces,  bracelets,  and  anklets  of  bones  and 
shells,  and  earrings  of  jade  or  albatross-down.  Many  of 
them  had  also  small  grotesque  figures  of  jade,  which  were 
suspended  from  the  neck,  and  were  regarded  as  very 
precious.  The  New  Zealanders  were  also  tattooed  with 
great  dexterity  and  elegance  ;  not  only  on  the  body,  but 
even  on  the  face,  the  general  effect  of  which  was  in  many 
cases  far  from  unpleasant.  The  process,  however,  was 
extremely  painful,  so  much  so,  indeed,  that  it  could  not 
be  supported  all  at  once,  but  was  sometimes  spread  over 
several  months  or  even  years.  The  lips  and  the  corners 
of  the  eyes  were  the  part  that  hurt  most.  To  have 
shrunk  from  it  would,  however,  have  been  a  great 
disgrace. 

Their  houses  were  from  eighteen  to  twenty  feet  long, 
eight  or  ten  broad,  and  five  or  six  high.  The  sides  sloped 
quite  down  to  the  ground,  differing  in  this  respect  from 
those  of  Tahiti,  which  are  left  open  at  the  sides.  This 
was  done,  however,  not  for  the  sake  of  privacy,  but  to 
keep  out  the  wind  and  rain.  The  sides  were  made  of 
sticks,  closely  thatched  with  grass  and  hay,  and  the  door 
was  at  one  end,  just  high  enough  to  admit  a  man  on  all 
fours.  Another  hole  served  both  for  window  and  chimney. 
The  roof  was  often  carved,  and  they  frequently  attached 
to  the  end  of  the  ridge  pole  a  monstrous  representation 
of  the  proprietor.^ 

The  villages  were  all  fortified.  They  chose  the  strongest 
natural  situations,  and  surrounded  the  houses  with  a 
palisade  about  ten  feet  high.  The  weaker  sides  were 
also  defended  "  by  a  double  ditch,  the  innermost  of  which 
has  a  bank,  and  an  additional  palisade."  The  stakes 
were  driven  obliquely  into  the  ground,  so  that  they  pro- 
jected over  the  ditch,  which  "from  the  bottom  to  the  top 
or  crown  of  the  bank  is  four-and-twenty  feet.  Close 
within  the  innermost  palisade  is  a  stage,  twenty  feet  high, 
forty  feet  long,  and  six  broad  ;  it  is  supported  by  strong 
posts,  and  is  intended  as  a  station  for  those  who  defend 
*  Dieffenbach,  /.<:.,  p.  69. 

30 


466 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


the  place,  from  which  they  may  annoy  the  assailants  by 
darts  and  stones,  heaps  of  which  lie  ready  for  use. 
Another  stage  of  the  same  kind  commands  the  steep 
avenue  from  the  back,  and  stands  also 
within  the  palisade."  ^  Within  the 
palisades  they  had  reduced  the  ground, 
"  not  to  one  level,  but  to  several, 
rising  in  stages  one  above  the  other, 
like  an  amphitheatre,  each  of  which  is 
enclosed  within  its  separate  palisade." 
These  different  platforms  communi- 
cated only  by  narrow  passages,  so  that 
each  one  was  capable  of  separate  de- 
fence ;  and  they  were  provided  with 
large  stores  of  dried  fish,  fern-roots, 
etc.  As  the  natives,  when  first  dis- 
covered, had  no  bows  and  arrows, 
nor  even  slings,  in  fact,  no  "  missile 
weapon  except  the  lance,  which  was 
thrown  by  hand,"  such  positions  as 
these  must  have  been  almost  im- 
pregnable. Their  principal  weapon 
was  the  patoo-patoo  (fig.  265),  which 
was  fastened  to  the  wrist  by  a  strong 
strap,  lest  it  should  be  wrenched 
from  them.  They  had  no  defensive 
armour,  but  besides  their  weapons  the 
chiefs  carried  a  "staff  of  distinction." 
Their  canoes  were  well  built,  and 
resembled  those  of  the  other  islands. 
Many  of  them,  however,  were  broad 
enough  to  sail  without  an  outrigger.  The  two  ends 
were  often  ingeniously  carved."^ 

The  dead  were  wrapped  in  native  cloth,  and  either 
buried  in  a  contracted  posture  or  exposed  for  a  while 
on  small  square  platforms  ;  when  the  flesh  had  decayed 
away,  the  bones  were  washed,  and  finally  deposited  in 
a  small  covered  box,  which  was  generally  elevated  on  a 

^  Cook's  First  Voyage^  p.  343.  ^  Porster,  l.c.^  p.  326. 


Fig.  265. — New  Zealand 
patoo-patoo,  one-fourth 
of  the  actual  size. 


THE    MAORIES  467 

column  in  or  near  the  village.^  In  some  districts,  how- 
ever, they  were  usually  thrown  into  the  sea,  except  indeed 
those  that  were  killed  in  battle.  These  were  generally  eaten 
by  their  enemies.  None  of  the  objects  used  by  the  dead 
during  his  last  illness  were  ever  employed  again  ;^  they 
were  generally  broken  and  buried  with  the  deceased.  In 
one  case  a  moa's  egg  has  been  found  in  the  hands  of  a 
dead  Maori,  who  was  buried  in  the  usual  sitting  posture. 
The  egg  was  perfect,^  and  may  have  been  intended  to 
serve  as  food  for  the  dead. 

In  the  Taranaki  district,  according  to  Taylor,  the  natives 
were  buried  in  their  houses,  the  door  was  tied  up  and 
painted  with  ochre  to  show  that  it  was  "  taboo."  In 
most  of  the  Pahs  or  fortified  villages  half  the  houses 
belonged  to  the  dead,  and  these  being  never  repaired 
gave  the  village  a  very  neglected  appearance.* 

Their  principal  musical  instrument  was  the  flute,  of 
which  they  had  three  or  four  varieties.  D'Urville  ^  also 
observed  among  them  a  kind  of  lyre,  with  three  or  four 
strings.  They  used  large  shells,  too,  as  a  kind  of  trumpet. 
They  were  very  fond  of  singing,  of  poetry,  and  of  dances. 
The  latter  were  of  two  kinds,  warlike  and  amorous. 

In  character  the  New  Zealanders  were  proud,  jealous, 
irritable,  cruel,  and  implacable  ;  but  at  the  same  time 
sensible,  generous,  sincere,  hospitable,  and  affectionate. 
Like  other  Polynesians,  the  Maories  were  much  given 
to  infanticide.^  The  girls  before  marriage  were  allowed 
great  freedom.  When  once  married,  however,  the 
women  were  faithful  and  affectionate  to  their  husbands, 
by  whom,  on  the  other  hand,  they  were  generally  treated 
with  both  kindness  and  respect.  On  the  whole,  it  must 
be  admitted  that  the  position  of  the  women  among  the 
New  Zealanders  was  far  from  unsatisfactory.  The 
Maories  were  perpetually  at  war  during  life,  and  hoped 
to  continue  so  after  death.      Heaven  they  regarded  as  a 

'  Dieffenbach,  /.c,  p.  63  ;  Fitzroy,  Ix..,  p.  579. 

^  D'Urville,  vol.  ii.  p.  536.  ^  Zoologist^  February,  1865,  p.  9454. 

^  Taylor,  Nciu  Zealand  and  its  Inhabitants^  p.  loi. 

'"  L.c,  vol.  ii.  p.  501.  !^  Dieffenbach,  I.e.,  p.  16. 


468  PREHISTORIC  TIMES 

place  where  there  would  be  continual  feasts  of  fish  and 
sweet  potatoes  ;  where  they  would  be  always  fighting, 
and  always  victorious.  Whether  they  can  be  said  to 
have  had  a  religion  or  not  depends  upon  the  meaning 
we  attach  to  the  word.  They  believe  in  the  survival  of 
the  soul,  but  not  in  the  resurrection  of  the  body — an 
article  of  faith  which,  as  Mr  Marsden  tells  us,  the 
missionaries  could  not  induce  them  to  accept.  They 
had  no  idea  of  an  Almighty  Deity.  Speaking  to  Mr 
Taylor,  Te  Heuheu,  chief  of  Taupo,  ridiculed  the  idea. 
"  is  there,"  he  asked,  "  one  maker  of  all  things  amongst 
you  Europeans  ?  Is  not  one  a  carpenter,  another  a 
blacksmith,  another  a  ship-builder,  and  another  a  house- 
builder  ?  So  it  was  in  the  beginning  ;  one  God  made 
this,  another  that  :  Tane  made  trees,  Ru  mountains, 
Tangaroa  fish,  and  so  forth.  Your  religion  is  of  to-day, 
ours  from  remote  antiquity.  Do  not  think,  then,  to 
destroy  our  ancient  faith  with  your  fresh-born  religion."^ 
Their  principal  deity  was  known  as  the  Atoua,  who 
was  a  cruel  cannibal  like  themselves.  When  anyone 
was  ill,  Atoua  was  supposed  to  be  devouring  his  inside, 
and  they  endeavoured  to  frighten  him  away  by  curses 
and  threats.^  This  we  may  regard  as  a  kind  of  negative 
worship  ;  but  on  other  occasions  they  certainly  ofi^ered 
human  and  other  sacrifices,  in  the  vain  hope  of  appeasing 
his  wrath.  They  did  not  worship  idols,  but  many  of 
the  priests  seem  to  have  really  thought  that  they  had 
been  in  actual  communication  with  the  Atoua  ;  and  some 
of  the  early  missionaries  were  inclined  to  believe  that 
Satan  might  have  been  permitted  to  practise  a  deception 
upon  them  in  order  to  strengthen  his  power  !  However 
extraordinary  this  may  appear,  the  same  was  the  case  in 
Tahiti.  "  In  addition,"  says  Mr  Ellis,  "  to  the  firm 
belief  which  many  who  were  sorcerers,  or  agents  of  the 
infernal  powers,  and  others  who  were  the  victims  of 
incantation,  still  maintain,  some  of  the  early  missionaries 
are  disposed   to   think   this  was   the   fact."  ^     Even    Mr 

'  Diefifenbach,  /.c,  p.  13.  ^  Missionajy  Register^  Nov.  1819. 

•'  Polynesian  Researches,  vol.  ii.  p.  226. 


THE   MAORIES  469 

Ellis  himself  was  of  the  same  opinion.  With  such  low 
ideas  of  the  Divinity,  it  is  perhaps  not  surprising  that 
some  of  the  chiefs  were  looked  upon  as  gods  even  during 
life.  Watches  and  white  men  also  were  at  first  regarded 
as  deities  ;  the  latter  not,  perhaps,  unnaturally,  their 
fire-arms  being  regarded  as  thunder  and  lightning. 

The  New  Zealanders  had  but  little  regard  for  human 
life.  Earle  relates  that  a  young  chief  named  Atoi,  who 
is  described  as  having  "a  handsome  open  countenance," 
on  one  occasion  recognized  a  pretty  girl  of  about  sixteen, 
who  had  been  working  for  Mr  Earle,  and,  claiming  her 
as  a  runaway  slave,  took  her  back  with  him  to  his  village, 
where  he  killed  and  ate  her.  The  next  day  he  showed 
Mr  Earle  "  the  post  to  which  she  had  been  tied,  and 
laughed  to  think  how  he  had  cheated  her."  "  For,"  said 
he,  "  1  told  her  I  only  intended  to  give  her  a  flogging  ; 
but  I  fired,  and  shot  her  through  the  heart."  "  Yet," 
adds  Mr  Earle,  "  I  again  affirm  that  he  was  not  only  a 
handsome  young  man,  but  mild  and  genteel  in  his 
demeanour,  and  a  general  favourite  with  us  all."  ^ 

Although  the  New  Zealanders  were  addicted  to  canni- 
balism, it  was  with  them  a  very  diflPerent  habit  from  that 
of  the  Fijian.  No  doubt  the  Maori  enjoyed  his  meals 
of  human  flesh.  But  the  cannibalism  of  a  New  Zealander, 
though  often  a  mere  meal,  was  also  sometimes  a  ceremony  ; 
in  these  cases  the  object  was  something  very  diflPerent 
from  mere  sensual  gratification  ;  it  must  be  regarded  as 
a  part  of  his  religion,  as  a  sort  of  unholy  sacrament. 
This  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  after  a  battle,  the  bodies 
which  they  preferred  were  not  those  of  plump  young 
men  or  tender  damsels,  but  of  the  most  celebrated  chiefs, 
however  old  and  dry  they  might  be.^  In  fact,  they 
believed  that  it  was  not  only  the  material  substance  which 
they  thus  appropriated,  but  also  the  spirit,  the  ability, 
and  the  glory  of  him  whom  they  devoured.  The  greater 
the  number  of  corpses  they  had  eaten,  the  higher  they 
thought  would  be  their  position  in  the  world  to  come. 
The  Fans  of  Central  Africa  are  said  to  entertain  a  similar 

'  Residences  in  New  Zealand^  p.  117.  '•*  D'Urville,  vol.  ii.  p.  547. 


470  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

idea.  Under  such  a  creed  there  is  a  certain  dignity 
about  the  habit,  which  is,  at  any  rate,  far  removed  from 
the  sensuality  of  ordinary  cannibalism.  To  be  eaten 
was,  on  the  other  hand,  the  greatest  misfortune  that 
could  happen  to  a  New  Zealander,  since  he  believed  that 
the  soul  was  thus  destroyed  as  well  as  the  body.  The 
chief  who  could  both  kill  and  devour  his  enemy  had 
nothing  more  to  fear  from  him  either  in  this  world  or 
the  next  ;  on  the  contrary,  the  strength,  ability,  and 
prestige  against  which  he  had  had  to  contend  were  not 
only  conquered,  but,  by  this  dreadful  process,  incorporated 
with  and  added  to  his  own. 

In  other  cases  slaves  were  killed  and  eaten  in  honour 
of  the  gods.  The  New  Zealanders  declared  that  criminals 
alone  were  thus  treated.  The  celebrated  chief,  E'hongui, 
maintained  that  the  whole  analogy  of  nature  was  in  favour 
of  cannibalism.  He  was  surprised  at  the  horror  of  it  felt 
by  D'Urville.  Big  fish,  he  said,  eat  little  fish  ;  insects 
devour  insects  ;  large  birds  feed  upon  small  ones  ;  it  is 
in  accordance  with  the  whole  analogy  of  nature  that  men 
should  eat  their  enemies.^ 

Tahiti 

Tahiti,  the  queen  of  islands,  has  excited  the  wonder 
and  admiration  of  almost  all  those  by  whom  it  has  been 
visited.  In  some  respects  the  Tahitians  were  surpassed 
by  other  South  Sea  Islanders  ;  the  Fijians,  for  instance, 
being,  as  we  have  seen,  acquainted  with  pottery  ;  but  on 
the  whole  they  may  be  taken  as  representing  the  highest 
stage  in  civilization  to  which  man  has  in  any  country 
raised  himself  before  the  discovery  or  introduction  of 
metallic  implements.  It  is  not,  indeed,  at  all  probable 
that  any  inhabitants  of  the  great  continents  were  so  far 
advanced  in  civilization  during  their  Stone  Age.  Doubt- 
less, the  Society  Islanders  would  not  have  remained 
without  metal  if  the  country  had  afforded  them  the 
means  of  obtaining  it.     On  the  other  hand,  the  ancient 

1  D'Urville,  vol.  ii.  p.  548. 


THE   TAHITI ANS  471 

inhabitants  of  Europe  were  confined  to  the  use  of  stone 
weapons  only  until  they  became  acquainted  with  the 
superiority  of,  and  acquired 
the  art  of  working  in,  copper, 
bronze,  or  iron  ;  and  it  is 
evident  that  a  nation  would 
in  all  probability  discover 
the  use  of  metal  before  at- 
taining the  highest  pitch  of  civilization, 
which,  without  such  aid,  it  would  be 
possible  for  it  to  attain. 

The  tools  of  the  Tahitians,  when  first 
discovered,  were  made  of  stone,  bone, 
shell,  or  wood.  Of  metal  they  had  no 
idea.  When  they  first  obtained  nails, 
they  mistook  them  for  the  young  shoots 
of  some  very  hard  wood,  and,  hoping 
that  life  might  not  be  quite  extinct, 
planted  a  number  of  them  carefully  in 
their  gardens.^ 

In  a  very  short  time,  however,  the 
earlier  weapons  were  entirely  replaced 
by  those  of  iron  ;  and  in  his  last  voyage 
Captain  Cook  tells  us^  that  ''a  stone 
hatchet  is,  at  present,  as  rare  a  thing 
amongst  them  as  an  iron  one  was  eight 
years  ago  ;  and  a  chisel  of  bone  or  stone 
is  not  to  be  seen."  The  stone  axes, 
or  rather  adzes,  were  of  various  sizes  ; 
those   intended  for  cutting  down    trees 

.    ,       ,      .  1       ^1        T^^i        Fi<^'-  266. — Stone  axe 

weighed  six  or  seven  pounds,  the  little       with  wooden  handle, 
ones,  which  were  used  for  carving^,  only       one -fourth  of  the 

r  A  11        r       1  -J  actual  size. 

a   tew   ounces.      All   or   them    required 
continual   sharpening,   and   a   stone  was   always    kept   in 
readiness  for  this  purpose.     The  natives  were  very  skilful 
in  the  use  of  their  adzes  (fig.  266)  ;  nevertheless,  to  fell 
a  tree  was  a  work  of  several  days.     Some  of  the  South 

'  Ellis,  Polynesian  Researches,  p.  298. 

-   Voyage  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  vol.  ii.  p.  137. 


472 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


Sea  axes  have  beautifully  carved  handles,  as  in  fig.  267, 

representing  a  speci- 
men in  my  own  col- 
lection. These  were 
axes  of  state.  The 
chisels,  or  gouges,  were 
of  bone,  generally  that  of  a  man's 
arm  between  the  wrist  and  elbow. 
Pieces  of  coral  were  used  as  rasps, 
and  splinters  of  bamboo  for  knives. 
For  cultivating  the  ground  they 
had  instruments  of  hard  wood, 
about  five  feet  long,  narrow,  with 
sharp  edges  and  pointed.  These 
they  used  as  spades  or  hoes.^ 
They  had  fish-hooks  (fig.  268) 
made  of  mother-of-pearl,  and 
every  fisherman  made  them  for 
himself.  They  generally  served 
for  the  double  purpose  of  hook 
and  bait.  "The  shelP  is  first 
cut  into  square  pieces  by  the  edge 
of  another  shell,  and  wrought  into 
a  form  corresponding  with  the  out- 
line of  the  hook  by  pieces  of  coral, 
which  are  sufficiently  rough  to  per- 
form the  office  of  a  file  ;  a  hole  is 
then  bored  in  the  middle,  the  drill 
being  a  pointed  stone  ;  this  they 
fix  into  the  end  of  a  piece  of 
bamboo,  and  turn  it  between  the 
hands  like  a  chocolate  mill  ;  when 
the  shell  is  perforated  and  the  hole 
sufficiently  wide,  a  small  file  of 
coral  is   introduced,  by  the  appli- 

>  Wilson,  Missionary  Voyage  to  the  South 
Pacific^  p.  245. 

^  Cook's  Voyage  Tound  the  Wofid^  vol.  i. 
p.  483  ;  vol.  ii.  p.  218. 


Fig.  267. — South  Sea  axe 
of  ceremony. 


THE   TAHITIANS 


473 


cation  of  which  the  hook  is  in  a  short  time  completed, 
few  costing  the  artificer  more  time  than  a  quarter  of 
an  hour.  From  the  bark  of  the  Poerou,  a  species  of 
Hibiscus,  they  made  ropes  and  lines,  from  the  thickness 
of  an  inch  to  the  size  of  a  small  pack-thread  ;  with 
these  they  make  nets  for  fishing."  They  had  also  a 
kind  of  seine  net,  made  "  of  a  coarse 
broad  grass,  the  blades  of  which  are 
like  flags  :  these  they  twist  and  tie 
together  in  a  loose  manner,  till  the 
net,  which  is  about  as  wide  as  a  large 
sack,  is  from  sixty  to  eighty  fathoms 
long  ;  this  they  haul  in  shoal-smooth 
water,  and  its  own  weight  keeps  it  so 
close  to  the  ground  that  scarcely  a 
single  fish  can  escape."  They  also 
use  certain  leaves  and  fruit  which, 
when  thrown  into  the  water,  inebriate 
the  fish  to  such  a  degree  that  they 
might  be  caught  by  the  hands, ^  Their 
fishing-lines  were  made  of  the  bark 
of  the  Erowa,  a  kind  of  nettle  which 
grows  in  the  mountains,  and  were 
described  as  "  the  best  fishing-lines 
in  the  world,"  better  even  than  our 
strongest  silk  lines.  They  also  used 
the  fibres  of  the  cocoa-nut  for  mak- 
ing threads,  with  which  they  fastened 
together  the  various  parts  of  their 
canoes.  They  were  very  dexterous  in  making  basket 
and  wicker  work,  "  of  a  thousand  different  patterns, 
many  of  them  exceedingly  neat "  ;  they  also  made  many 
sorts  of  mats  from  rushes,  grass,  and  bark,  which  were 
woven  with  great  neatness  and  regularity,  although  en- 
tirely by  hand  and  without  any  loom  or  machinery." 
But    their    principal   manufacture   was    a    kind    of    cloth, 

'  Forster,   Observations   made  duri7tg  a    Voyage   round  the    World, 
p.  463  ;  Ellis,  vol.  ii.  p.  288. 
-  Ellis,  vol.  ii.  pp.  179,  180. 


Fig.  268. — South  Sea  fish- 
hook, one-half  of  the 
actual  size. 


474  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

made  from  bark,  and  of  which  there  were  three  varieties, 
obtained  either  from  the  paper-mulberry,  which  was  the 
best,  the  bread-fruit  tree,  or  a  kind  of  fig.  This  last, 
though  less  ornamental,  was  more  useful  than  either 
of  the  others,  because  it  resisted  water,  which  they  did 
not.  All  three  kinds  of  cloth  were  made  in  the  same 
way,  the  difference  between  them  being  only  in  the 
material.  When  the  trees  were  of  a  proper  size,  that  is 
to  say,  about  six  or  eight  feet  high,  and  somewhat  thicker 
than  a  man's  thumb,  they  were  pulled  up  and  the  roots 
and  branches  were  cut  off.  The  bark  being  slit  up 
longitudinally,  it  peeled  ofF  readily,  and  was  then  soaked 
for  some  time  in  running  water.  After  this,  the  green 
outside  bark  was  carefully  scraped  off  with  a  shell,  and 
the  strips  were  laid  out  in  the  evening  to  dry,  being 
placed  one  by  the  side  of  another  "  till  they  are  about  a 
foot  broad,  and  two  or  three  layers  are  also  laid  one  upon 
the  other."  By  the  morning  a  great  part  of  the  water 
had  drained  off  or  evaporated,  and  "  the  several  fibres 
adhere  together,  so  as  that  th^  whole  may  be  raised  from 
the  ground  in  one  piece."  It  was  then  placed  on  the 
smooth  side  of  a  long  piece  of  wood,  and  beaten  by  the 
women-servants  with  a  wooden  instrument,  shaped  like  a 
square  razor-strap,  and  about  a  foot  long.  The  four 
sides  of  this  instrument  were  "  marked  lengthways  with 
small  grooves  or  furrows,  of  different  degrees  of  fineness  ; 
those  on  one  side  being  of  a  width  and  depth  sufficient  to 
receive  a  small  pack-thread,  and  the  others  finer  in  a 
regular  gradation,  so  that  the  last  are  not  more  than  equal 
to  sewing  silk."  They  beat  the  cloth  first  with  the 
coarsest  side,  and  afterwards  with  the  others,  ending  with 
the  finest  :  under  this  treatment  it  expanded  greatly,  and 
might  be  made  almost  as  thin  as  a  muslin.  The  different 
pieces  of  bark  by  this  treatment  were  so  closely  fastened 
together  that  the  cloth  might  be  washed  and  wrung  out 
without  any  fear  of  tearing  ;  but  even  if  it  were  accidentally 
broken,  it  was  repaired  without  difficulty,  by  pasting  on  a 
patch  with  a  gluten  prepared  from  the  root  of  the  pea  : 
this  was  done  so  nicely  that  it  could  not  be  discovered. 


THE   TAHITIANS  475 

This  cloth  was  cool  and  agreeable  to  the  touch,  being 
even  softer  than  our  broadcloth.  It  is  hardly  necessary 
to  say  that  the  fineness  was  regulated  according  to  the 
purpose  for  which  it  was  intended.  The  first  two  kinds 
were  easily  bleached,  and  then  dyed  of  various  colours, 
generally  red  and  yellow.  Both  of  these  were  vegetable 
colours,  and  not  very  fast. 

They  had  various  strange  and  complicated  dresses  for 
great  occasions,  but  their  ordinary  clothes  were  very 
simple,  and  consisted  of  two  parts.  One  of  them  was  a 
piece  of  cloth  with  a  hole  "  in  the  middle  to  put  the  head 
through,"  and  long  enough  to  reach  from  the  shoulder  to 
the  knee.  The  other  was  wrapped  round  the  waist  so  as 
to  hang  down  like  a  petticoat  as  low  as  the  knee  ;  this  was 
called  the  Parou.  Frequently  also  they  wore  a  piece  of 
cloth  tied  round  the  head  like  a  turban.  The  dress  of 
the  Queen  is  thus  described  by  Ellis  ^  :  "  She  was  attired 
in  a  light,  loose,  and  flowing  dress  of  beautifully  white 
native  cloth,  tastefully  fastened  on  the  left  shoulder,  and 
reaching  to  the  ankle  ;  her  hair  was  rather  lighter  than 
that  of  the  natives  in  general  ;  and  on  her  head  she  wore 
a  light  and  elegant  native  bonnet,  of  green  and  yellow 
cocoa-nut  leaves  ;  each  ear  was  perforated,  and  in  the 
perforation  two  or  three  flowers  of  the  fragrant  Cape 
jessamine  were  inserted."  The  dress  of  the  men  was 
very  similar,  but  instead  of  the  petticoat  they  brought  the 
cloth  between  the  legs  ;  this  was  called  the  Maro.  In 
hot  weather,^  and  at  noon,  both  sexes  went  almost  naked, 
wearing  only  the  cloth  round  the  waist.  Besides  the 
turbans  and  head-dresses  of  leaves,  they  sometimes  wore 
long  plaits  of  human  hair,  which  they  wound  about  the 
head  in  such  a  manner  as  to  produce  a  very  pretty  effect. 
They  were  very  clean  both  in  their  persons  and  their 
clothes  ;  washing,  as  a  rule,  three  times  a  day.  Orna- 
ments were  worn  by  the  men  as  much  as  by  the  women, 
and  consisted  of    feathers,  flowers,  pieces  of  shells,  and 

»  L.C.,  p.  148. 

'■^  The  Sandwich  Islanders  had  small  square  fans  of  mat  or  wicker-work, 
with  handles  of  the  same  or  of  wood. 


476  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

pearls.  Tattooing  also  was  almost  universal  ;  and  a 
person  not  properly  tattooed  would  "  be  as  much 
reproached  and  shunned,  as  if  with  us  he  should  go  about 
the  streets  naked."  ^  They  anointed  their  heads  frequently 
with  perfumed  cocoa-nut  oil,  but  had  no  combs,  which  in 
so  hot  a  country  must  have  been  much  wanted.  Not- 
withstanding this,  the  hair  of  the  grown-up  people  was 
very  neatly  dressed. 

Their  houses  were  used  principally  as  dormitories. 
They  were  made  of  wood,  and  were  generally  about 
twenty-four  feet  long,  eleven  wide,  and  nine  feet  high. 
They  had  no  side  walls,  but  the  roof  reached  to  within 
about  three  feet  and  a  half  of  the  ground.  Palm  leaves 
took  the  place  of  thatch,  and  the  floor  was  generally 
covered  with  soft  hay. 

The  canoes  resembled  those  of  the  Fijians,  but  are  said 
to  have  been  scarcely  so  well  built.  "  To  prepare  the 
planks  was  no  easy  task,  but  the  great  difficulty  was  to 
fasten  them  together.  This  was  effected  by  strong  thongs 
of  plaiting  which  are  passed  several  times  through  holes 
that  are  bored  with  a  gouge  or  auger  of  bone."  ^  The 
length  of  the  canoes  varied  from  ten  up  to  ninety  feet, 
"  but  the  breadth  is  by  no  means  in  proportion  ;  for  those 
of  ten  feet  are  about  a  foot  wide,  and  those  of  more  than 
seventy  are  scarcely  two."  ^  These  larger  ones  were  not, 
however,  used  singly,  but  were  fastened  together  side  by 
side,  in  the  manner  already  described.  A  canoe  without 
an  outrigger  seemed  to  them  an  impossibility.*  The 
labour  of  constructing  these  canoes  must  have  been 
immense  ;  nevertheless,  the  South  Sea  Islanders  possessed 
large  numbers  of  them.  On  one  occasion  Captain  Cook 
saw  more  than  three  hundred  in  one  place  ;  and,  without 
counting  the  smaller  vessels,  he  estimated  the  whole 
naval  force  of  the  Society  Islands  at  1700  war  canoes, 
manned  by  68,000  men.^ 

1  Wilson,  I.e.,  p.  355. 

2  Cook's  First  Voyage.,  p.  225  ;  Forster,  /.r.,  p.  459. 

^  Cook's  First  Voyage,  p.  221.  ^  Ellis,  I.e.,  vol.  ii.  p.  55. 

^  Cook's  Seeond  Voyage,  vol.  i.  p.  349. 


THE   TAHITIANS  477 

Their  principal  musical  instrument  was  the  drum  ;  it 
was  made  from  a  piece  of  solid  wood,  hollowed  out, 
and  covered  over  with  shark's  skin.  They  had  also  a 
kind  of  trumpet  made  of  a  large  shell,  with  a  hole  at 
the  small  end,  into  which  they  fastened  a  bamboo  cane 
about  three  feet  long.  Their  flutes  were  of  bamboo, 
and  were  blown  with  the  nose.  They  had  various  kinds 
of  games,  some  of  which  appear  to  have  resembled 
our  hockey  and  football.  They  were  also  very  fond  of 
dancing. 

They  were  quite  ignorant  of  pottery,  but  had  large 
dishes  made  of  polished  wood.  The  shells  of  cocoa-nuts 
were  used  as  water-bottles  and  cups.  They  were  scraped 
thin,  polished,  often  very  ingeniously  carved,  and  kept 
extremely  clean.  Generally  the  natives  of  Tahiti  sat 
cross-legged  on  mats  spread  on  the  floor  ;  but  the  chiefs 
had  often  four-legged  stools.  Chairs  and  tables  were 
unknown.  They  slept  also  on  mats  and  used  a  wooden 
pillow,  very  much  resembling  a  small  stool.  The  upper 
side  was  carved  like  the  seat  of  the  stool,  to  admit  the 
neck.  Each  house  also  contained  a  light  post,  planted  in 
the  floor,  and  with  several  projections,  from  which  the 
various  dishes,  calabashes  of  water,  baskets  of  food,  etc., 
were  hung.^ 

Their  weapons  were  formidable,  though  simple.  They 
consisted  of  slings,  pikes  headed  with  stone,  and  long 
clubs  made  of  hard,  heavy  wood.  With  the  first  they 
were  very  skilful.  Their  slingstones  were  of  two  kinds, 
"  either  smooth,  being  polished  by  friction  in  the  bed  of 
a  river,  or  sharp,  angular,  and  rugged  ;  these  were  called 
ofai  ara — faced  or  edged  stones."  ^  We  have  already 
mentioned  (p.  99)  that  two  sorts  of  slingstones,  closelv 
corresponding  to  these,  were  used  by  the  ancient  in- 
habitants of  Europe,  It  would  be  interesting  to  know  the 
relative  advantage  of  the  two  classes,  which  surely  cannot 
have  been  used  for  exactly  the  same  purposes.  They 
had  also  bows  and  arrows,  which,  however,  were  not 
sufficiently  strong  to  be  used  in  warfare.  The  bow- 
'  Ellis,  I.e.,  vol.  ii.  p.  184.  2  Ibid..,  vol.  ii.  p.  49. 


478  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

strings  were  made  of  Roava  bark.^  The  Society  Islanders 
are  said  to  have  been  cruel  in  war,  but,  according  to 
Captain  Cook,  "  they  are  seldom  disturbed  by  either 
foreign  or  domestic  troubles."  Though  not  cowards, 
they  regard  it  as  "  much  less  disgraceful  to  run  away 
from  an  enemy  with  whole  bones,  than  to  fight  and  be 
wounded."^ 

"  Of  tame  animals  they  had  only  hogs,  dogs,  and 
poultry  ;  ^  neither  was  there  a  wild  animal  in  the  island, 
except  ducks,  pigeons,  parroquets,  with  a  few  other  birds, 
and  rats,  there  being  no  other  quadruped,  nor  any  serpent."  * 
The  dogs  were  kept  entirely  for  food,  and  Captain  Cook 
assures  us  that  "  a  South  Sea  dog  was  little  inferior  to  an 
English  lamb  ;  their  excellence  is  probably  owing  to  their 
being  kept  up  and  fed  wholly  on  vegetables."  The 
natives  prefer  dog  to  pork.  From  the  sea  they  obtained 
excellent  fish  and  shell-fish.  They  had  also  bread-fruit, 
bananas,  plantains,  yams,  cocoa-nuts,  potatoes,  the  sugar- 
cane, a  fruit  not  unlike  an  apple,  and  several  other  plants 
which  served  for  fruit,  and  required  very  little  culture. 
The  bread-fruit  tree  supplied  them  with  abundance  of 
fresh  fruit  for  eight  months,  and  during  the  other  four 
they  used  "  mahie,"  which  is  a  kind  of  sour  paste,  prepared 
from  the  fermented  ripe  fruit.  It  is  probable  that  nine- 
tenths  of  their  diet  consisted  of  vegetable  food  ;  and  the 
common  people  scarcely  ever  tasted  either  pork  or  dog, 
although  the  hogs  appear  to  have  been  very  abundant. 

They  obtained  fire  by  friction.  When  the  wood  was 
quite  dry,  the  process  did  not  take  longer  than  two  minutes, 
but  in  wet  weather  it  was  very  tedious.  Having  no 
pottery,  they  did  not  boil  their  food.  "  It  is  impossible," 
says  Wallis,  "  to  describe  the  astonishment  they  expressed 
when  they  saw  the  gunner,  who,  while  he  kept  the  market, 
used  to  dine  on  shore,  dress  his  pork  and  poultry  by 
boiling  them  in  a  pot  ;  having,  as  I  have  before  observed, 

1  Wilson,  I.e.,  p.  368.  2  Wilson,  p.  363. 

^  Wallis's   Voyage  round  the   World;  Hawkesworth's   Voyages.,  vol.  i. 
p.  482. 

^  Cook's  Voyage  round  the  World.,  p.  187. 


THE   TAHITIANS  479 

no  vessel  that  would  bear  the  fire,  they  had  no  idea  of 
hot  water."  ^  Captain  Cook  also  expressly  states  that 
"  they  had  but  two  ways  of  applying  fire  to  dress  their 
food,  broiling  and  baking."  ^  Mr  Tylor,  however,  has 
pointed  out^  that  they  were  acquainted  with  the  use  of 
boiling  stones,  and  that  they  could  not  therefore  have 
been  entirely  ignorant  of  hot  water.  In  order  to  bake  a 
hog,  they  made  a  small  pit  in  the  ground,  which  they 
paved  with  large  stones,  over  which  they  then  lighted  a 
fire.  When  the  stones  were  hot  enough,  they  took  out 
the  embers,  raked  away  the  ashes,  and  covered  the  stones 
with  green  cocoa-nut  leaves.  The  animal  which  was  to 
be  dressed,  having  been  cleaned  and  prepared,  was  wrapped 
up  in  plantain  leaves,  and  covered  with  the  hot  embers, 
on  which  again  they  placed  bread-fruit  and  yams,  which 
also  were  wrapped  up  in  plantain  leaves.  Over  these  they 
spread  the  rest  of  the  embers,  and  some  hot  stones,  finally 
covering  the  whole  with  earth.  The  meat  thus  cooked  is 
described  as  being  tender  and  full  of  gravy  ;  in  fact,  both 
Wallis  and  Cook  considered  that  it  was  "  better  in  every 
respect  than  when  it  is  dressed  in  any  other  way,"  For 
sauce  they  used  salt  water,  without  which  no  meal  was 
ever  eaten,  and  a  kind  of  thick  paste  made  from  the 
kernels  of  cocoa-nuts.  At  their  meals  they  drank  either 
water  or  cocoa-nut  juice.  The  Sandwich  Islanders  were 
very  fond  of  salt  meat,  and  had  regular  salt  pans  on  the 
sea-shore.* 

The  only  intoxicating  liquor  was  the  ava,  an  infusion 
made  from  the  root,  stalks,  and  leaves  of  a  kind  of  pepper, 
which,  however,  fortunately  for  them,  was  entirely  for- 
bidden to  the  women,  and  seldom  permitted  to  the  lower 
classes.  In  some  of  the  other  islands  this  liquid  is  pre- 
pared in  a  disgusting  manner.  The  roots  were  broken 
in  pieces,  cleaned,  chewed,  and  then  placed  in  a  wooden 
bowl,  mixed  with  a  certain  quantity  of  water,  and  stirred 
up  with  the  hands.      In  Tahiti,  however,  the  chewing  was 

'  L.c,  vol.  i.  p.  484.  -  Second  Voyai^c^  vol.  ii.  p.  197. 

•'  Early  History  of  Mankind^  p.  266. 
^  Cook's  Third  Voyage^  vol.  iii.  p.  151. 


48o  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

dispensed  with.  The  wooden  bowls  out  of  which  the 
chiefs  drank  their  ava  were  often  very  fair  specimens  of 
carving.  In  the  Sandwich  Islands  they  are  described  as 
having  been  "  usually  about  eight  or  ten  inches  in 
diameter,  perfectly  round,  and  beautifully  polished. 
They  are  supported  by  three,  and  sometimes  four,  small 
human  figures,  in  various  attitudes.  Some  of  them  rest 
on  the  hands  of  their  supporters,  extended  over  the 
head  ;  others  on  the  head  and  hands  ;  and  some  on 
the  shoulders."  These  figures  are  said  to  have  been 
"  accurately  proportioned  and  neatly  finished,  and  even 
the  anatomy  of  the  muscles,  in  supporting  the  weight, 
well  expressed."  ^ 

Sir  J.  Banks  ^  gives  an  interesting  description  of  the 
manner  in  which  the  chiefs  dined.  They  had  no  table, 
and  each  person  ate  alone  and  in  silence.  Some  leaves 
were  spread  on  the  ground  to  serve  as  a  table-cloth,  and 
a  basket  was  set  by  the  chief  containing  his  provision, 
which,  if  fish  or  flesh,  was  ready  dressed  and  wrapped  in 
leaves.  Two  cocoa-nut  shells  were  put  by  the  side,  one 
containing  salt  water  and  the  other  fresh.  He  first 
washed  his  hands  and  mouth  thoroughly  with  the  fresh 
water,  and  this  he  repeated  almost  continually  through 
the  meal.  He  then  took  part  of  his  provision  out  of  the 
basket,  which  generally  consisted  of  a  small  fish  or  two, 
two  or  three  bread-fruits,  fourteen  or  fifteen  ripe  bananas, 
or  six  or  seven  apples.  He  began  by  eating  some  bread- 
fruit, at  the  same  time  breaking  one  of  the  fishes  into  the 
salt  water.  He  then  took  up  the  bits  of  fish  in  his 
fingers,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  get  with  it  as  much  salt 
water  as  possible,  and  very  frequently  he  took  a  mouthful 
of  the  salt  water,  either  out  of  the  cocoa-nut  or  in  his 
hand.  Sometimes,  also,  he  drank  the  juice  of  a  cocoa- 
nut.  When  he  had  finished  his  bread-fruit  and  fish,  he 
began  his  plantains  or  apples,  after  which  he  ate  some 
more  bread-fruit,  beaten  into  a  sort  of  paste,  and  generally 
flavoured  with  banana  or  some  other  fruit.      For  a  knife 

^   Third  Voyage^  vol.  iii.  p.  148. 

2  Cook's  First  Voyage^  vol.  ii.  p.  200  ;  Journal,  p.  139. 


THE   TAHITIANS  481 

he  used  either  a  shell  or  a  piece  of  split  bamboo,  and  in 
conclusion  he  again  washed  his  hands  and  mouth.  They 
were  quite  unacquainted  with  forks,  and  Captain  Wallis^ 
tells  us  that,  during  his  visit,  one  of  the  natives  who 
"  tried  to  feed  himself  with  that  instrument,  could  not 
guide  it,  but  by  the  mere  force  of  habit  his  hand  came  to 
his  mouth  and  the  victuals  at  the  end  of  the  fork  went 
away  to  his  ear."  Nor  did  they  use  plates.  Poulaho, 
chief  of  the  Friendly  Islands,  dining  one  day  on  board 
the  ship,  was  so  much  struck  by  the  pewter  plates  that 
Captain  Cook  gave  him  one.  He  did  not,  however, 
intend  to  employ  it  in  the  usual  manner,  but  said  that 
"  whenever  he  should  have  occasion  to  visit  any  of 
the  other  islands,  he  would  leave  this  plate  behind 
him  at  Tongataboo,  as  a  sort  of  representative  in  his 
absence."  - 

Captain  Cook  was  much  surprised  to  find  that  a  people 
who  were  so  sociable,  and  who  enjoyed  so  much  the 
society  of  women,  never  made  their  meals  together. 
Even  brothers  and  sisters  had  each  their  own  basket,  and 
when  they  wished  to  eat  would  go  out,  "  sit  down  upon 
the  ground,  at  two  or  three  yards'  distance  from  each 
other,  and,  turning  their  faces  different  ways,  take  their 
repast  without  interchanging  a  single  word."  They  ate 
alone,  they  said,  "  because  it  was  right,"  but  why  it  was 
right  they  were  unable  to  explain.  We  must,  however, 
remember  that  these  islanders  were  together  much  more 
than  we  are.  We  enjoy  a  sociable  meal,  because  the 
nature  of  our  occupations  keeps  us  apart  so  much  at 
other  times  ;  but  among  a  people  whose  wants  were 
supplied  with  so  little  exertion  on  their  part,  who  were 
all  day  long  together,  and  had  no  rooms  into  which  they 
could  retire  and  be  alone,  it  must  have  been  a  great  thing 
to  have  some  way  of  escaping  from  their  friends  and 
being  quiet  without  giving  offence.  As  there  were  no 
stated  times  for  meals,  a  man  who  wished  to  be  alone 
need  only  to  take  out  his  basket  of  provisions,  and  he 
might  be   sure    that  he  would  not  be  disturbed.     This 

'   Voyage  round  the  Worlds  p.  482.         -  Third  Voyai^e,  vol.  i.  p.  326. 

31 


482  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

custom,  therefore,  seems  to  have  been  both  ingenious  and 
convenient.^ 

Although  they  usually  went  to  bed  soon  after  dark, 
still  the  natives  of  Tahiti  were  not  entirely  without 
candles,  for  which  they  used  the  "  kernels  of  a  kind  of 
oily  nut,  which  they  stick  one  over  another  upon  a 
skewer  that  is  thrust  through  the  middle  of  them." 
These  candles  burn  a  considerable  time,  and  are  said  to 
have  given  a  pretty  good  light.  The  Society  Islanders 
had  no  knowledge  of  medicine  as  distinct  from  witchcraft  ; 
but  some  wonderful  stories  are  told  of  their  skill  in 
surgery. 

The  nostrils  of  the  female  infants  were  often  pressed 
or  spread  out  during  infancy,  because  they  looked  on  a 
flat  nose  as  a  mark  of  beauty.  In  the  same  way  the  boys 
sometimes  had  their  forehead  and  the  back  of  their  head 
pressed  upwards,  so  that  the  upper  part  of  the  skull 
appeared  in  the  shape  of  a  wedge.  This  was  supposed  to 
make  them  look  more  formidable  in  war.^ 

The  dead  were  not  buried  at  once,  but  were  placed  on 
a  platform  raised  several  feet  above  the  ground,  and 
neatly  railed  in  with  bamboo.  The  body  was  covered 
with  a  cloth,  and  sheltered  by  a  roof.  By  the  side  were 
deposited  the  weapons  of  the  deceased,  and  a  supply  of 
food  and  water.  When  the  body  had  entirely  decayed, 
the  bones  were  collected,  carefully  cleaned  and  buried, 
according  to  the  rank  of  the  deceased,  either  within  or 
without  a  "  morai."  ^  The  largest  morai  seen  by  Captain 
Cook  was  the  one  prepared  for  Oamo  and  Oberea,  who 
were  the  then  reigning  sovereigns.  This  was  indeed  the 
principal  piece  of  architecture  in  the  island,  and  is  re- 
markable   as    showing   what  considerable  works  may  be 

'  Since  the  above  was  written,  I  have  met  with  the  following  passage  in 
Burchell :  "  I  had  sufficient  reason  for  admiring  one  of  the  customs  of  the 
Bachapins  ;  that,  notwithstanding  they  never  at  any  other  time  left  me 
alone,  they  always  retired  the  moment  my  dinner  or  breakfast  was 
brought  to  me.  This  gave  me  a  few  moments'  relief  from  the  fatigue  of 
incessant  conversation." — Travels  in  Southern  Africa,  vol.  ii.  p.  408. 

2  L.c,  vol.  i.  p.  343. 

^  In  some  cases  the  head  is  not  buried  with  the  other  bones,  but  is 
deposited  in  a  kind  of  box 


THE   TAHITIANS  483 

undertaken  by  a  people  ignorant  of  the  use  of  metal. 
"  It  was  a  pile  of  stonework,  raised  pyramidically  upon 
an  oblong  base,  or  square,  two  hundred  and  sixty-seven  feet 
long,  and  eighty-seven  wide.  It  was  built  like  the  small 
pyramidal  mounts  upon  which  we  sometimes  fix  the  pillar 
of  a  sun-dial,  where  each  side  is  a  flight  of  steps  ;  the 
steps,  however,  at  the  sides,  were  broader  than  those  at 
the  ends,  so  that  it  terminated  not  in  a  square  of  the 
same  figure  with  the  base,  but  in  a  ridge,  like  the  roof  of 
a  house  :  there  were  eleven  of  these  steps,  each  of  which 
was  four  feet  high,  so  that  the  height  of  the  pile  was  forty- 
four  feet  ;  each  step  was  formed  of  one  course  of  white 
coral  stone,  which  was  neatly  squared  and  polished  ;  the 
rest  of  the  mass,  for  there  was  no  hollow  within,  consisted 
of  round  pebbles,  which,  from  the  regularity  of  their 
figure,  seemed  to  have  been  wrought."  ^  A  very  similar 
account  of  this  structure  has  been  more  recently  given  by 
Wilson,^  who  makes  the  size  and  height  a  little  greater  ; 
and  when  it  is  considered  that  this  was  raised  without  the 
assistance  of  iron  tools  to  shape  the  stones,  or  of  mortar 
to  fasten  them  together,  it  is  impossible  not  to  be  struck 
with  admiration  at  the  magnitude  of  the  enterprise,  and 
the  skill  with  which  it  appears  to  have  been  carried  out. 
It  is,  perhaps,  the  most  important  monument  which  is 
positively  known  to  have  been  constructed  with  stone 
tools  only,  and  renders  it  the  less  unlikely  that  some  of 
the  large  tumuli  and  other  ancient  monuments  of  Europe 
may  belong  to  the  Stone  Age.  When  a  chief  died,  his 
relations  and  attendants  cut  and  mangled  themselves  in  a 
dreadful  manner.  They  ran  spears  through  their  thighs, 
arms,  and  cheeks,  and  beat  themselves  about  the  head 
with  clubs  "  till  the  blood  ran  down  in  streams."  They 
also  frequently  cut  off  the  little  finger  on  these  occasions  ; 

^  Cook's  Voya/f{;  round  the  World,  vol.  ii.  p.  i66.  Similar  but  some- 
what smaller  morais  were  observed  in  the  Sandwich  Islands  {Third 
Voyage,  vol.  iii.  p.  6).  In  the  Friendly  Islands,  D'Urville  saw  a  similar 
mausoleum  built  with  blocks  of  stone,  some  of  which  were  twenty  feet  long, 
six  or  eight  broad,  and  two  in  height.  They  were  neatly  squared.  L.c, 
vol.  iv.  p.  1 06. 

-  Lx.,  p.  207. 


484  PREHISTORIC  TIMES 

a  curious  custom,  which  is  common  also  in  the  Friendly 
Islands. 

In  Tiarrabou,  Captain  Cook  saw  a  rude  figure  of  a 
man,  made  of  basket-work,  and  about  seven  feet  high. 
This  was  intended  as  a  representation  of  one  of  the 
inferior  gods,  but  was  said  to  be  the  only  one  on  the 
island  ;  for  the  natives,  when  first  discovered,  though 
they  worshipped  numerous  deities,  to  whom  also  human 
sacrifices  were  sometimes  offered,  yet  were  not  idolators. 
At  a  later  period,  however,  Ellis  saw  among  them  many 
rude  idols. ^  Captain  Cook  found  their  religion,  "  like 
that  of  most  other  countries,  involved  in  mystery,  and 
perplexed  with  apparent  inconsistencies."  ^  They  believed 
in  the  survival  of  the  soul,  and  in  "  two  situations  of 
different  degrees  of  happiness,  somewhat  analogous  to 
our  heaven  and  hell  "  ;  but,  far  from  regarding  them  as 
places  of  reward  and  punishment,  thought  that  the 
happiest  lot  was  of  course  intended  for  the  chiefs  and 
superior  classes,  the  other  for  the  people  of  inferior  rank.^ 
Indeed,  they  did  not  suppose  that  their  actions  here  in 
the  least  influenced  their  future  state  ;  so  that  their 
religion  did  not  act  upon  them  by  promises  or  threats, 
and  their  "  expressions  of  adoration  and  reverence, 
whether  by  words  or  actions,  arise  only  from  a  humble 
sense  of  their  own  inferiority,  and  the  ineffable  excellence 
of  divine  perfection."  However  mistaken  they  may  have 
been  on  many  points,  however  wrong  many  of  their 
customs  doubtless  appear  to  us,  surely  under  such  a  creed 
as  this,  good  actions  become  doubly  virtuous,  and  virtue 
itself  shines  the  brighter. 

They  had  no  laws,  nor  courts  of  justice.  Personal 
security  and  the  rights  of  private  property  were  but 
little  regarded  among  them.  The  chiefs  and  priests 
exercised  an  authority  founded  on  fear  and  supersti- 
tion. They  were,  in  fact,  governed  by  custom  rather 
than  by  law,  for  which,  indeed,  they  had  no  word  in  the 

'  Ellis,  I.e.,  vol.  i.  p.  526 ;  Wilson,  /.^.,  p.  242. 

^  See  also  Forster,  I.e.,  p.  539. 

•*  Cook's  First  Voyage.,  vol.  ii.  p.  239  ;  Ellis,  vol.  i.  p.  518. 


THE  TAHITI ANS  485 

language.^  It  is  only  fair  to  the  chiefs  to  add  that  they 
were  above  being  idle,  and  thought  it  a  disgrace  if  they 
did  not  excel  in  all  departments  of  labour.^  In  char- 
acter the  inhabitants  of  Tahiti,  according  to  Captain  Cook, 
"  were  liberal,  brave,  open,  and  candid,  without  either  sus- 
picion or  treachery,  cruelty,  or  revenge."^  They  were 
very  anxious  for  education.  The  women  were  affectionate, 
tender,  and  obedient ;  the  men  mild,  generous,  slow  to 
take  offence,  and  easily  satisfied.  Both  sexes  were  very 
healthy.  "  I  never  saw  anyone,"  says  Forster,*  "  of  a 
morose,  peevish,  discontented  disposition  in  the  whole 
nation  ;  they  all  join  to  their  cheerful  temper  a  politeness 
and  elegance  which  is  happily  blended  with  the  most 
innocent  simplicity  of  manners."  Murders  were  very 
rare  among  them  ;  and  though  much  licence  was  per- 
mitted to  the  young  women  before  marriage,  the  married 
women,  according  to  Captain  Cook,^  were  as  well  behaved 
"  as  in  any  other  country  whatever."  They  were  very 
thievish  ;  but  we  must  consider  the  immense  temptations 
to  which  they  were  subjected,  and  the,  to  them,  inestimable 
value  of  the  articles  which  they  stole.  Like  other  savages, 
they  resembled  children  in  many  respects  :  their  sorrows 
were  transient,  their  passions  suddenly  and  strongly 
expressed.  On  one  occasion,  Oberea,  the  queen,  who 
was  then  about  forty  years  old,  took  a  particular  fancy  to 
a  large  doll,  which  was  accordingly  presented  to  her. 
Shortly  afterwards  they  met  Tootahah,  one  of  the 
principal  chiefs,  who  became  so  jealous  of  Oberea's  doll 
that  they  were  obliged  to  give  him  one  also. 

There  are  scarcely  any  nations,  whether  barbarous  or 
civilized,  in  which  the  relations  of  the  two  sexes  are  on 
the  whole  satisfactory.  Savages,  almost  without  excep- 
tion, treat  their  women  as  slaves,  and  civilized  nations 
too  often  avoid  this  error  only  to  fall  into  others. 

The  inhabitants  of  Tahiti  are  said  to  have  been 
absolutely  without    any  ideas   of   decency,  or   rather,  as 

'  Ellis,  /.<:.,  vol.  ii.  p.  437.  -'  Ibid.^  vol.  ii.  p.  178 

•'  First  Voya^e^  vol.  ii.  p.  188.  ^  L.c,  p.  582. 

''   Voyage  to  the  South  Pole,  vol.  i.  p.  187. 


486  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

Captain  Cook  puts  it,  perhaps  more  correctly,  "  of  in- 
decency"— that  is,  at  least,  in  our  sense  of  the  term. 
This  no  doubt  arose  in  part  from  their  large  open  houses, 
which  were  not  divided  into  separate  rooms.  However 
this  may  be,  where  there  was  no  sin  they  saw  no  shame, 
and  it  must  be  confessed  that  in  many  points  their  idea 
of  sin  was  very  different  from  ours.  Before,  however, 
we  condemn  them,  let  us  remember  that  a  dinner-party 
would  have  seemed  as  wrong  to  them  as  many  of  their 
customs  do  to  us.  If  the  freedom,  both  in  language  and 
in  action,  which  they  permitted  to  themselves  seems  to 
us  in  many  respects  objectionable,  we  must  not  forget 
that  our  ideas  of  delicacy  shut  out  from  general  con- 
versation numerous  subjects  of  great  interest  and  im- 
portance, and  throw  round  many  matters  of  the  utmost 
importance  an  air  of  mystery  which  is  not  without  serious 
disadvantages. 

A  considerable  number  of  the  principal  people  of  both 
sexes  in  Tahiti  were  formed  into  an  association  called  the 
"  Arreoy,"  all  the  members  of  which  were  regarded  as 
being  married  to  one  another.  If  any  of  the  women  of 
the  society  had  a  child,  it  was  almost  invariably  killed  ; 
but  if  it  was  allowed  to  live,  the  father  and  mother  were 
regarded  as  having  definitely  engaged  themselves  to  one 
another,  and  were  ejected  from  the  association  —  the 
woman  being  known  from  that  time  as  a  "  bearer  of 
children,"  which  was  among  this  extraordinary  people  a 
term  of  reproach.  The  existence  of  such  a  society  shows 
how  fundamentally  the  idea  of  virtue  may  differ  in 
different  countries.  Yet  the  married  women  were  faith- 
ful to  their  husbands,  and  beautifully  modest.  It  is 
impossible,  indeed,  to  acquit  even  them  of  the  charge  of 
infanticide,  for  which  we  may  find  a  cause,  though  not 
an  excuse.  I  do  not  allude  to  the  curious  custom  that 
a  child,  as  soon  as  it  was  born,  inherited  the  titles,  rank, 
and  property  of  its  father,  so  that  a  man  who  was  yester- 
day a  chief  might  be  thus  at  once  reduced  to  the  con- 
dition of  a  private  person  ;  nor  to  the  fact  that  any 
Arreoy  who  spared  her  infant  was  at  once  excluded  from 


THE   TAHITIANS  487 

that  society.  We  cannot  suppose  that  such  customs 
were  without  their  effect  ;  but  a  more  powerful  reason 
may  perhaps  be  found  in  the  fact  that  their  numbers 
were  already  large,  the  means  of  subsistence  limited,  and 
that,  as  but  few  were  carried  off  either  by  disease  or  in 
war,  the  population  would  soon  have  outgrown  their 
supplies  if  some  means  were  not  taken  to  check  the 
natural  increase  of  numbers.^  However  this  may  be, 
infanticide  appears  to  have  been  dreadfully  prevalent 
amongst  them.  It  has  been  estimated  that  two-thirds  of 
the  children  were  destroyed  by  their  own  parents,^  and 
both  Nott  and  Ellis  agree  that,  during  the  whole  of 
their  residence  in  the  island,  until  the  adoption  of 
Christianity,  they  did  not  know  a  single  case  of  a  mother 
who  had  not  been  guilty  of  this  crime. 

According  to  Wilson,'^  their  language  contained  no 
word  for  "thanks,"  and  even  Cook  admits  that  they  had 
no  respect  for  old  age.  Fitzroy  goes  still  farther,  and 
assures  us  that  "  they  scrupled  not  to  destroy  their  aged 
or  sick — yes,  even  their  parents,  if  disabled  by  age  or 
sickness."  *  No  such  accusation  is,  however,  brought 
against  them  by  earlier  writers,  so  that  such  actions  are 
probably  very  rare,  and  the  result,  perhaps,  as  among  the 
Fijians,  of  misdirected  affection  rather  than  of  deliberate 
cruelty. 

They  had  no  money  ;  and  though  it  was  easy  to 
obtain  the  necessaries  of  life,  to  accumulate  property 
was  almost  impossible.  Again,  the  absence  of  spirituous 
liquors  and  the  relations  between  the  sexes  (however 
unsatisfactory  in  some  respects)  took  away  from  them 
some  of  the  principal  incentives  to  crime.  On  the  whole, 
then,  if  we  judge  them  by  a  South  Sea  standard,  the 
natives  of  the  Society  Islands  appear  to  have  been  very 
free  from  crime. 

In  spite  of  the  differences  which  sometimes  arose  in 
consequence  of  their  thievish  disposition,  and  also  perhaps 

'  See,  for  instance,  Kotzebue's  New  Voyai^e,  vol.  i.  p.  308. 
-  Ellis,  vol.  i.  pp.  334,  336.  3  j'c.,  p.  365. 

*  L.c,  vol.  ii.  p.  551. 


488  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

in  great  measure  from  their  not  being  able  perfectly  to 
understand  each  other,  Captain  Cook  and  his  officers 
lived  with  the  natives  "  in  the  most  cordial  friendship," 
and  took  leave  of  them  with  great  regret.  Mr  Ellis,  on 
the  contrary,  assures  us  that  "  no  portion  of  the  human 
race  was  ever  perhaps  sunk  lower  in  brutal  licentiousness 
and  moral  degradation  than  this  isolated  people."^  Such 
a  statement  is  surely  quite  inconsistent  with  the  account 
he  gives  of  their  anxiety  to  possess  copies  of  the  Bible 
when  it  was  translated  into  their  own  language.  "  They 
were,"  he  says,  "  deemed  by  them  more  precious  than 
gold — yea,  than  much  fine  gold,"  and  "  became  at  once 
the  constant  companion  of  their  possessors,  and  the 
source  of  their  highest  enjoyment."  ^ 

The  inhabitants  of  the  Friendly,  or  Tonga,  and  of  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  are  also  very  well  described  by  Captain 
Cook,  but  they  belonged  to  the  same  race  as  those  of 
Tahiti  and  New  Zealand,  and  resembled  them  in  religion, 
language,  canoes,  houses,  weapons,  food,  habits,  etc.  It 
is  somewhat  remarkable  that  the  Sandwich  Islanders,  in 
many  respects — as,  for  instance,  in  their  dances,  houses, 
tattooing,  etc. — resembled  the  New  Zealanders  even  more 
than  their  nearer  neighbours  in  the  Society  and  Friendly 
Islands.  In  the  Friendly  Islands  Captain  Cook  observed 
a  very  singular  luxury  in  which  the  chiefs  indulged  them- 
selves. When  one  of  them  wished  to  go  to  sleep,  two 
women  came  and  sat  by  him  "  beating  briskly  on  his 
body  and  legs  with  both  fists,  as  on  a  drum,  till  he  fell 
asleep,  and  continuing  it  the  whole  night,  with  some 
short  intervals."  When  the  chief  is  sound  asleep  they 
sometimes  rest  themselves  a  little,  "  but  resume  it  if  they 
observe  any  appearance  of  his  waking."  ^  A  similar  state- 
ment is  made  by  Wilson  in  his  Missionaiy  Voyaged  In 
all  the  islands  the  chiefs  appear  to  have  been  treated  with 
respect,  none  the  less  profound  because  shown  in  ways 
which  seem  to  us  peculiar.  One  of  them  was  to  uncover 
the  body  from   the  waist,  and  it  seems  to  have  been  a 

'   Ellis,  I.e.,  vol.  ii.  p.  25.  -  Ellis,  vol.  i.  pp.  393-408. 

''   7'Mrd  l^oj'ai^e,  vol.  i.  p.  323.  ^  L.c,  p.  237. 


'  THE   TAHITIANS  489 

matter  of  indifference,  or  rather  of  convenience,  whether 
this  was  done  upwards  or  downwards.^  In  the  Friendly 
Islands  it  was  accounted  a  striking  mark  of  rudeness  to 
speak  to  the  king  while  standing  up. 

There  was  also  a  certain  amount  of  commerce  between 
the  different  islands.  Bora-bora  and  Otahaw  produced 
abundance  of  cocoanut  oil,  which  was  exchanged  at 
Tahiti  for  cloth.  The  Low  Islands,  again,  could  not 
successfully  grow  the  paper-mulberry  ;  but  they  had  a 
breed  of  dogs  with  long  silky  hair,  which  was  much 
prized  in  the  other  islands. 

'  Cook's  Fiist  Voyage^  vol.  ii.  p.  125. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

MODERN  SAVAGES — Continued 

Esquimaux 

The  Esquimaux,  and  the  Esquimaux  alone  among  savage 
races,  occupy  both  the  Old  and  the  New  World.  They 
inhabit  the  shores  of  the  Arctic  Ocean  from  Siberia  to 
Greenland  ;  and  throughout  this  great  extent  of  country 
the  language,  appearance,  habits,  occupations,  and  weapons 
of  the  natives  are  very  similar,  and  it  must  be  added  that 
the  latter  are  most  ingenious.  The  language  of  the 
Innuit,  or  Esquimaux,  is  akin  to  that  of  the  North 
American  Indians  in  structure,  while  their  appearance  has 
a  decided  likeness,  particularly  about  the  eyes,  to  the 
Chinese  and  Tartars. 

Their  dwellings  are  of  two  kinds.  The  summer 
they  pass  in  tents  or  wigwams,  with  the  entrance  to  the 
south  or  south-east.  In  those  observed  by  Captain 
Parry,  the  tent-poles  were,  in  the  absence  of  wood, 
formed  of  stags'  horns,  or  bones  lashed  together.  The 
lower  borders  of  the  skins  were  held  down  by  large 
stones.  These  were  sometimes  built  up  into  regular 
circles,  eight  or  nine  feet  in  diameter,  and  four  or  five 
feet  high.^  These  circles  were  at  first  supposed  to 
be  the  remains  of  winter-houses  ;  but  it  was  subse- 
quently ascertained  that  they  were  exclusively  used  for 
extending  the  skins  of  the  summer-tents.  Near  these 
"  hut  circles  "  long  rows  of  standing-stones  were  several 
times   observed.^      The    winter-houses    in    the    southern 

>  Parry's  Voyage,  1821-23,  pp.  17,  51.  -  /,.<:.,  pp.  62,  285,  363. 

490 


THE   ESQUIMAUX  491 

districts  are  constructed  of  earth  or  drift-timber,  which  is 
very  abundant  in  some  places.  In  the  north,  however, 
wood  becomes  extremely  rare.  The  Esquimaux  at  the 
northern  end  of  Baffin's  Bay,'  who  had  no  wood,  except- 
ing twigs  of  a  dwarfish  heath,  were  so  little  acquainted 
with  the  nature  of  timber,  that  several  of  them  succes- 
sively seized  on  the  spare  top-mast  of  the  Isabella 
evidently  with  the  intention  of  stealing  it,  and  quite  un- 
conscious of  its  weight.  In  the  absence  of  wood,  their 
houses  were  built  of  ice  and  snow  ;  those  of  ice  are 
beautiful,  and  almost  transparent,  so  that  even  at  some 
little  distance  it  is  possible  to  see  everything  that  takes 
place  in  them.  They  are,  however,  much  colder  than 
those  of  snow,  which  therefore  are  generally  preferred. 
West  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  the  winter-houses  were 
usually  underground.  They  much  resemble  the  tumuli 
of  Northern  Europe  (see  ante^  p.  114).  A  Kamskatka- 
dale  "  yourt  "  is  thus  described  by  Captain  Cook  ^  :  "  An 
oblong  square,  of  dimensions  proportionate  to  the  number 
of  persons  for  whom  it  is  intended  (for  it  is  proper  to 
observe  that  several  families  live  together  in  the  same 
jourt)^  is  dug  into  the  earth  to  the  depth  of  about  six  feet. 
Within  this  space  strong  posts,  or  wooden  pillars,  are 
fastened  to  the  ground,  at  proper  distances  from  each 
othei:,  on  which  are  extended  the  beams  for  the  support 
of  the  roof,  which  is  formed  by  joists  resting  on  the 
ground  with  one  end,  and  on  the  beams  with  the  other. 
The  interstices  between  the  joists  are  filled  up  with  a 
strong  wicker-work,  and  the  whole  covered  with  turf  ;  so 
that  a  jourt  has  externally  the  appearance  of  a  low  round 
hillock,  A  hole  is  left  in  the  centre,  which  serves  for 
chimney,  window,  and  entrance,  and  the  inhabitants  pass 
in  and  out  by  means  of  a  strong  pole  (instead  of  a  ladder) 
notched  deep  enough  to  afford  a  little  holding  for  the 
toe,"  as  in  fig.  152  (p.  115).  More  often,  however,  the 
entrance  consisted  of  a  sunken  passage,  as  also  shown  in 
fig.  152  or  fig.  153  (pp.  115,  116). 

*  Ross,  Baffin^ s  Bay,  p.  122. 

-   Voyage  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  vol.  iii.  p.  374.     See  also  vol.  iii.  p.  450. 


492  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

As  a  general  rule,  we  may  say  that  the  western  yourts 
are  subterranean,  while  those  of  the  tribes  who  live  east 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains  are  generally  above-ground. 
The  manner  in  which  the  Esquimaux  construct  their 
snow  igloos  has  been  well  described  by  Captain  Parry. 
They  choose  ^  a  drift  of  hard  and  compact  snow,  and  from 
this  they  cut  oblong  slabs  six  or  seven  inches  thick  and 
about  two  feet  in  length.  With  these  they  build  a 
circular  wall,  inclining  inwards  so  as  to  form  a  dome, 
which  is  sometimes  as  much  as  nine  or  ten  feet  high,  and 
from  eight  to  fifteen  feet  in  diameter.  A  small  door  is 
then  cut  on  the  south  side.  It  is  about  three  feet  high, 
two  and  a  half  wide  at  the  bottom,  and  leads  into  a  passage 
about  ten  feet  long,  and  with  a  step  in  the  middle,  the  half 
next  the  hut  being  lower  than  either  the  floor  of  the  hut 
or  the  outer  passage.  For  the  admission  of  light  a  round 
hole  is  cut  on  one  side  of  the  roof,  and  a  circular  plate  of 
ice,  three  or  four  inches  thick  and  two  feet  in  diameter, 
is  let  into  it.  If  several  families  intend  to  live  together, 
other  chambers  are  constructed  which  open  into  the  first, 
and  then,  after  a  quantity  of  snow  has  been  shovelled  up 
on  the  outside,  the  shell  of  the  building  is  regarded  as 
finished.  The  next  thing  is  to  raise  a  bank  of  snow  two 
and  a  half  feet  high  all  round  the  interior  of  the  building, 
except  on  the  side  next  the  door.  This  bank  forms  the 
bed.  Over  it  is  laid  some  gravel,  upon  that  again 
paddles,  tent-poles,  pieces  of  whalebone,  twigs  of  birch 
and  of  andromeda,  etc.,  and  finally  a  number  of  deer- 
skins, which  form  a  soft  and  luxurious  couch.  They 
have  no  fireplace,  properly  so  called,  that  is  to  say,  no 
hearth,  but  each  family  has  a  separate  lamp  or  shallow 
vessel  generally  made  of  lapis  ollaris  in  which  they  burn 
seal's  oil,  with  a  wick  made  of  dry  moss. 

Although  they  had  no  knowledge  of  pottery,  Captain 
Cook  saw  at  Oonalashka  vessels  "  of  a  flat  stone,  with 
sides  of  clay,  not  unlike  a  standing  pie."  ^  We  here 
obtain  an  idea  of  the  manner  in  which  the  knowledge  of 

'   Parry,  l.c.^  p.  500. 

^   Voyage  to  the  Pacific  Ocean ^  vol.  ii.  p.  510. 


THE   ESQUIMAUX  493 

pottery  may  have  been  developed.  After  using  clay  to 
raise*  the  sides  of  their  stone  vessels,  it  would  naturally 
occur  to  them  that  the  same  substance  would  serve  for 
the  bottom  also,  and  thus  the  use  of  stone  might  be 
replaced  by  a  more  convenient  material. 

The  natives  of  the  Lower  Murray  cook  their  food  in  a 
hollow  in  the  ground,  which  they  line  with  clay,  and  in 
other  cases  gourds  and  wooden  vessels  are  coated  with 
clay  in  order  to  enable  them  to  stand  heat.  Thus  we 
see  three  ways  in  which  pottery  may  have  been  invented. 

The  snow-houses  melt  away  every  spring ;  but  in 
some  places  the  Esquimaux  construct  their  dwellings  on 
a  similar  plan,  but  with  the  bones  of  whales  and  walruses 
on  a  foundation  of  stones,  and  with  a  covering  of  earth. 
The  snow-houses  are  of  course  pretty  clean  at  first,  but 
they  gradually  become  very  filthy.  The  bone  huts  are 
even  dirtier,  because  more  durable.  "In  every  direction 
round  the  huts,"  says  Captain  Parry,  "were  lying  in- 
numerable bones  of  walruses  and  seals,  together  with 
skulls  of  dogs,  bears,  and  foxes,  on  many  of  which  a  part 
of  the  putrid  flesh  still  remaining  sent  forth  the  most 
offensive  effluvia."  ^  He  even  observed  a  number  of 
human  bones  lying  about  among  the  rest.^  The  inside 
of  the  huts,  "  from  their  extreme  closeness  and  accumu- 
lated filth,  emitted  an  almost  insupportable  stench,  to 
which  an  abundant  supply  of  raw  and  half-putrid  walrus 
flesh  in  no  small  degree  contributed."^ 

On  the  north-western  coast  of  America  the  natives  find 
plenty  of  driftwood,  and  the  floors  of  their  yourts  are, 
according  to  Belcher,  made  of  split  timber,  nicely  smoothed 
and  carefully  caulked  with  moss.  Underneath  is  often  a 
large  store-room,  for  in  summer  they  kill  many  reindeer, 
whales,  walrus,  seals,  swans,  ducks,  etc.,  the  greater  part 
of  which  are  laid  by  for  winter  use.  One  of  these  winter 
stores  is  thus  expressively,  though  somewhat  hastily, 
described  by  Sir  E.   Belcher:^     "It   was   frozen  into  a 

1    Farry,  /.c,  p.  280. 

^  See  also  I.yon's  Journal,  p.  236.  ■'  I'arry,  /.f.,  p.  358. 

*   Trans.  Kthn.  Soc,  New  Series,  vol.  i.  p.  132. 


494  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

solid  mass  beneath,  but  loose  from  those  on  the  surface, 
and  seemed  to  be  incorporated,  by  some  unexplained 
process,  into  a  gelatinous  snow,  which  they  scraped  up 
easily  with  the  hand  and  ate  with  satisfaction — fish  oil 
predominating.  It  was  not  offensive  nor  putrid.  How 
many  years  the  lower  mass  may  have  remained  there,  1 
could  not  determine."  He  estimates  the  quantity  of 
solid  meat  in  this  storehouse  alone  at  71,424  pounds. 
Sir  John  Ross  also  mentions  ^  the  large  stores  of  food 
laid  up  by  the  Esquimaux  of  Boothia  Felix  during  the 
summer  for  winter  use.  The  habit  does  not,  however, 
appear  to  be  general  among  the  Esquimaux,  though  they 
all  of  them  make  "  caches  "  of  meat  under  stone  cairns. 

Charlevoix  derives  the  name  "  Esquimaux "  from  the 
Indian  word  Eskimantsik,  which  means  "  eaters  of  raw 
food,"  many  of  these  northern  tribes  being  in  the  habit 
of  eating  their  meat  uncooked.  We  must  injustice  to 
them  remember  that  several  of  our  Arctic  expeditions 
have  adopted  the  same  custom,  which  seems  indeed  in 
those  latitudes  highly  conducive  to  health.^ 

Their  food,  if  cooked  at  all,  is  broiled  or  boiled.  Their 
vessels  being  of  stone  or  wood  cannot,  indeed,  be  put  on 
the  fire,  but  heated  stones  are  thrown  in  until  the  water 
becomes  hot  enough,  and  the  food  is  cooked.  Of  course, 
the  result  is  a  mess  of  soot,  dirt,  and  ashes,  which  would, 
according  to  our  ideas,  be  almost  intolerable  ;  but  if  the 
stench  of  their  houses  does  not  take  away  a  man's 
appetite  nothing  else  would  be  likely  to  do  so.  They 
never  wash  their  pots  or  kettles  ;  the  dogs  save  them 
this  trouble.  Those  who  have  arrived  at  a  dim  conscious- 
ness of  their  dirtiness  do  generally,  but  make  matters 
worse,  for  if  they  wish  to  treat  a  guest  "  genteelly,  they 
first  lick  the  piece  of  meat  he  is  to  eat  clean  from  the 
blood  and  scum  it  has  contracted  in  the  kettle,  with  their 
tongue  ;    and   should   anyone    not    kindly  accept    it,   he 

'  Narrative  of  a  Second  Voyage^  p.  251  ;  and  Appendix,  p.  21.  See 
also  Hall's  Life  luith  the  Esquimaux,  vol.  ii.  p.  311  ;  Kane's  Arctic  Ex- 
plorations, vol.  ii.  p.  133. 

^  See,  for  instance,  Kane's  Arctic  Explorations,  vol.  ii.  p.  14. 


THE   ESQUIMAUX  495 

would  be  looked  upon  as  an  unmannerly  man  for  despis- 
ing their  civility."  ^  The  Esquimaux  observed  by 
Dr  Rae  at  Repulse  Bay  were,  however,  much  cleaner 
in  their  habits. 

Their  food  consists  principally  of  reindeer,  musk-ox, 
walrus,  seals,  birds,  and  salmon.  They  will,  however, 
eat  any  kind  of  animal  food.  They  are  very  fond  of  fat 
and  marrow,  to  get  at  which  they  pound  the  bones  with 
a  stone.  The  southern  tribes  get  a  few  berries  in 
summer,  but  those  who  live  in  the  north  have  scarcely 
any  vegetable  food  except  that  which  they  obtain  in  a 
half-digested  form  from  the  stomach  of  the  reindeer,  and 
this  they  regard  as  a  great  delicacy  ;^  the  northernmost 
of  all,  being  unable  to  kill  reindeer,  are  entirely  deprived 
of  vegetable  food. 

A  feast  among  some  of  the  more  civilized  Esquimaux 
of  Greenland  is  thus  described  by  Crantz:^  "A  factor 
being  invited  to  a  great  entertainment  with  several  topping 
Greenlanders,  counted  the  following  dishes  :  (i)  Dried 
herrings  ;  (2)  Dried  seal's  flesh  ;  (3)  Boiled  ditto  ;  (4) 
Half-raw  and  rotten  ditto,  called  Mikiak  ;  (5)  Boiled 
willocks  ;  (6)  A  piece  of  a  half-rotten  whale's  tail  :  this 
was  the  dainty  dish  or  haunch  of  venison  to  which  the 
guests  were  properly  invited  ;  (7)  Dried  salmon  ;  (8) 
Dried  reindeer  venison  ;  (9)  A  dessert  of  crowberries 
mixed  with  the  chyle  out  of  the  maw  of  a  reindeer  ; 
(10)  The  same,  enriched  with  train  oil. 

Their  drink  consists  of  blood  or  water  :  during  the 
greater  part  of  the  year  they  have  considerable  difficulty 
in  obtaining  sufficient  water  to  satisfy  their  thirst,  and  it 
is  much  too  precious  to  be  used  for  washing.  It  may 
seem  surprising  that  people  who  are  surrounded  by 
snow  and  ice  should  suffer  from  want  of  water,  but  the 
amount  of  heat  required  to  melt  snow  is  so  great  that  a 
man  without  the  means  of  obtaining  fire  might  die  of 
thirst  in  these  Arctic  regions  as  easily  as  in  the   sandy 

1  Crantz,  p.  i68  ;  Parry,  Second  Voyai^e,  p.  293  ;  hyon's  Journal,  p.  142. 

2  Ross,  Narrative  of  a  Second  Voyage,  p.  352. 
^  History  of  Greenland,  vol.  i.  p.  1 72. 


496  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

deserts  of  Africa.  Any  direct  "  resort  to  snow,"  says 
Kane,  "  for  the  purpose  of  allaying  thirst,  was  followed 
by  bloody  lips  and  tongue  ;  it  burnt  like  caustic."  ^ 
When  the  Esquimaux  visited  Captain  Parry,  they  were 
always  anxious  for  water,  which  they  drank  in  such 
quantities  "  that  it  was  impossible  to  furnish  them  with 
half  as  much  as  they  desired."^  In  the  extreme  north, 
one  of  the  principal  duties  of  the  women  in  the  winter  is 
to  thaw  snow  over  their  lamps,  feeding  the  wick  with  oil 
if  it  does  not  rise  well  of  its  own  accord;^  the  natural  heat 
of  the  room  is  not  sufficient  to  melt  snow,  as  the  temper- 
ature of  the  huts  is  always  kept,  if  possible,  below  the 
freezing-point.  In  South  Greenland,  however,  the  huts 
are  built  of  turf,  etc.,  and  are  very  warm.*  But  we  must 
remember  that  coolness,  rather  than  heat,  is  required  by 
the  Esquimaux  who  live  in  snow  dwellings,  because  if 
the  temperature  rises  to  thirty-two  degrees,  the  continual 
dripping  from  the  roof  produces  extreme  inconvenience, 
and,  in  fact,  the  most  unhealthy  season  is  the  spring, 
when  the  weather  is  too  warm  for  snow  huts  and  too  cold 
for  tents.  Thus,  therefore,  the  Esquimaux,  though  liv- 
ing in  a  climate  so  extremely  rigorous,  would  be  debarred 
from  the  use  of  fires  by  the  very  nature  of  their  dwellings, 
even  if  they  were  enabled  to  obtain  the  necessary  materials. 
They  never,  says  Simpson,  "  seem  to  think  of  fire  as  a 
means  of  imparting  warmth  "  ;  ^  their  lamps  are  used  for 
cooking,  for  light,  and  for  melting  snow  and  drying 
clothes,  rather  than  to  warm  the  air,^  and  as,  nevertheless, 
the  body  temperature  of  the  Esquimaux  is  almost  the 
same  as  ours,  it  is  evident  that  they  must  require  a  large 
amount  of  animal  food.  The  quantity  of  meat  which 
they  consume  is  indeed  astonishing  ;  and  it  is  worthy  of 
remark  that,  from  the  scarcity  of  wood  in  the  far  north, 
they  use  the  same  substance  for  food  and  fuel  ;  the 
calorific    material    being    the    same — namely,    blubber — 

1  Arctic  Explorations,  vol.  i.  p.  190.  -  L.c,  p.  188. 

^  Oshorn's  Arctic  Joiir/iat,  p.  17.  ••  Egede,  i.e.,  p.  116. 

"  Discovcncs  in  North  A  merica,  p.  346. 

°  Kane,  I.e.,  vol.  ii.  p.  202. 


THE   ESQUIMAUX 


497 


whether  the  heat  is  to  be  obtained  by  digestion  or  com- 
bustion ;  whether  the  material  is  to  be  placed  in  a  lamp 
and  burnt,  or  to  be  eaten.  In  summer,  however,  when 
it  is  less  necessary  to  keep  down  the  general  temperature, 
they  sometimes  burn  bones  well 
saturated  with  oil.  For  obtaining 
fire  the  Esquimaux  generally  use 
lumps  of  iron  pyrites  and  quartz, 
from  which  they  strike  sparks  on 
to  moss  which  has  been  well  dried 
and  rubbed  between  the  hands.^ 
They  are  also  acquainted  with  the 
method  of  obtaining  it  by  fric- 
tion,^ which  is  a  slower  and  more 
laborious  process.  It  appears,  how- 
ever, to  be  the  one  generally  pur- 
sued by  the  Greenland  Esquimaux.^ 

It  has  been  generally  assumed 
that  man  could  scarcely  live  in 
temperate  climates,  and  certainly 
not  in  the  Arctic  regions,  without 
the  advantage  of  fire.  From  the 
above  facts,  however,  as  well  as 
from  others  which  will  presently 
be  recorded,  it  may  be  doubted 
whether  this  is  really  the  case. 
Esquimaux  do  not  use  fire  to  warm 
their  dwellings,  and  cookery  is  with 
them  a  refinement.  In  fact,  those 
Esquimaux  who  live  on  reindeer 
more  than  on  seal,  having  little  Fio.  269. -Esquimaux  knife. 
blubber,  make  hardly  any  use  of  fire. 

In  the  south  the  men  have  bows  and  arrows,  harpoons, 
spears,  lines,  fish-hooks,  knives,  snow-knives,  ice-chisels, 
snow-shovels,  groovers,  drill-bows,  drills,  etc.  The  women 
have  lamps  and  stone  kettles,  lamp  moss,  pieces  of  iron 
pyrites,  bone  needles,  pieces  of  sinew,  scrapers  (figs.  1 14— 

'  Kane,  /.r.,  vol.  i.  p.  379  ;  Parry,  l.c.^  p.  504  ;  Ross,  /.f.,  p.  513. 
''-  Lyon's  Journal,  p.  290.  ■'  Egede, /.<:.,  p.  138. 

32 


498 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


1 1 6),  horn  spoons,  sealskin  vessels,  pointed  bones,  marrow- 
spoons,  and  knives  (figs.  269,  270).  They  have  generally 
also,  according  to  Dr  Rae,  a  small  piece  of  stone,  bone,  or 
ivory,  about  six  inches  long  and  half  an  inch  thick  ;  this 
is  used  for  arranging  the  wicks  of  the  lamps. 

Kane  gives  the  following  inventory  of  an  Esquimaux 
hut  visited  by  him  :  a  sealskin  cup,  for  gathering  and 
holding  water  ;  the  shoulder-blade  of  a  walrus,  to  serve 

as  a  lamp  ;  a  large  flat 
stone  to  support  it ;  another 
large,  thin  flat  stone  to 
support  the  melting  snow  ; 
a  lance-head,  with  a  long 
coil  of  walrus  line  ;  a  stand 
for  clothes  ;  and  the  clothes 
themselves  completed  the 
whole  worldly  goods  of 
this  poor  family.^  On 
their  travelling  expedi- 
tions, even  less  than  this 
is  necessary  ;  raw  meat  and 
a  fur  bag  are  all  they 
require. 

The  implements  of  the 
Esquimaux  are  very  in- 
genious. Besides  knives 
resembling  figs.  269,  270, 
the  women  use  others  of 
a  semicircular  form,  and  very  similar  to  the  curious 
semi-lunar  knives  which  are  so  common  in  Denmark. 
They  are,  however,  now  made  of  metal,  which  the 
southern  Esquimaux  have  been  enabled  to  obtain, 
though  in  small  quantities,  from  the  Europeans.  Some 
few  of  them  also  break  off  bits  of  meteoric  iron,  which 
they  hammer  to  an  end,  and  then  fix  in  a  handle  of  horn  or 
bone.  The  arrow-heads  are  of  several  kinds  and  shapes. 
Those  of  stone  (fig.  271)  are  made,  not  by  blows,  but  by 
pressure,  for  which  purpose  they  use  the  point  of  a  rein- 

^  Kane's  Arctic  Explorations^  vol.  i.  p.  381. 


Fig.  270  a,  b. — Esquimaux  knife. 


THE   ESQUIMAUX  499 

deer's  horn,  set  in  bone  ;  bone  itself  would  not  be  tough 

enough.     Other    arrow-heads  are  of  horn  ;    these  often 

bear  "owners'  marks,"  as  may  be  seen  by  fig.  2  (p.  13). 

The  shafts  of  the  arrows  are  short,  straightened  by  steam, 

and  provided  with  feathers  at  the  butt  end.     These  are 

fastened  on  by  deer  sinews.     The  bows  are  generally  of 

wood,  either  made  of  one  piece  steamed  into  the  right 

form,  or  of  three  parts  most  ingeniously  fastened  together, 

and  strengthened  by  pieces    of    bone   or  sinew.     When 

wood    cannot    be    obtained,    they    use 

bone  or  horn.      They  do   not   appear 

to    be    particularly    good    shots  :     but 

Captain  Parry  ^  thinks  that  they  would 

generally    hit    a    deer    from    forty    to 

forty-five  yards,   if    the   animal   stood 

still.^     Moreover,  against  large  game 

they  are,  after  all,  not  very  effective. 

Sir   J.   C.    Ross   gives    an    interesting 

account  of  a  musk-sheep  hunt  which  „^  .™,^ 

he    witnessed.       At    length    becomine:    ^,         "    t.     . 

,  T^        °.  ,.         ^     iiG.  271.— Esquimaux 

impatient,     as     the     iLsqUimaUX     "  con-    arrow-head,  actual  size. 

tinued  to  shoot  without  apparent 
effect,  finding  his  opportunities  for  an  aim  with  much 
difficulty,  and  losing  much  time  afterwards  in  recover- 
ing his  arrows.  Sir  James  fired,  and  broke  the  animal's 
shoulder-blade,  to  the  immense  astonishment  of  his 
companion."^ 

The  spears  (fig.  272)  are  made  like  the  arrows,  but  are 
larger  ;  the  heads  also  are  frequently  barbed,  and  in  many 
cases  fit  loosely  into  the  shaft,  but  are  securely  fastened 
to  a  long  leathern  thong,  which  is  tied  to  the  butt  end  of 
the  spear.  For  throwing  the  harpoon  they  use  a  short 
handle  or  throwing-stick,  about  two  feet  long,  narrow 
below,  four  inches  wide  above,  and  with  a  notch  on  each 

'  L.c,  p.  511. 

■^  The  Esquimaux  of  Greenland  have  long  abandoned  the  bow  and 
arrow,  using  guns  obtained  from  the  Danes.  In  many  other  respects  also 
their  ancient  habits  have  been  modified,  and  their  condition  greatly  im- 
proved, by  this  intercourse. 

3  Sir  J.  Ross's  Arctic  Expedition,  1829-33,  p.  350. 


500 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


M 


rA'^. 


X' 


side  for  the  thumb  and  forefinger.  With  these  weapons 
they  attack  not  only  seals  and  walruses,  but  even  whales. 
They  strike  the  whale,  if  possible  at  the  same  time,  with 
many  harpoons,  "  to  which  bladders  are  hung,  made  of 
great  sealskins,  several  of  which  so 
encumber  and  stop  the  whale,  that  it 
cannot  sink  deep.  When  he  is  tired 
out,  they  despatch  him  quite  with 
their  little  lances."  Kane  gives  the 
figure  of  a  lance,  the  blade  of  which 
closely  resembles  one  of  the  longer 
"  axes  "  from  the  Danish  shell-mounds.-^ 
The  Esquimaux  have  three  principal 
ways  of  killing  seals.  The  commonest 
is  with  the  harpoon  and  bladder. 
When  an  Esquimaux  in  his  kayak 
"  spies  a  seal,  he  tries  to  surprise  it 
unawares,  with  the  wind  and  sun  in 
his  back,  that  he  may  not  be  heard 
or  seen  by  it.  He  tries  to  conceal 
himself  behind  a  wave,  and  makes 
hastily  but  softly  up  to  it  till  he  comes 
within  four,  five,  or  six  fathoms  of 
it  ;  meanwhile  he  takes  the  utmost 
care  that  the  harpoon,  line,  and  bladder 
lie  in  proper  order."  ^  As  soon  as  the 
seal  is  struck,  the  point  of  the  spear 
detaches  itself  from  the  shaft,  and 
at  the  same  moment  the  Esquimaux 
throws  the  large  air-bladder  on  to  the 
water.  This  is  often  dragged  under 
water  a  little  way,  but  it  is  so  great 
an  impediment,  that  the  seal  is  soon  obliged  to  come 
up.  "  The  Greenlander  hastens  to  the  spot  where  he 
sees  the  bladder  rise  up,  and  smites  the  seal  as  soon  as 
it  appears"  with  the  great  lance  or  "angovigak."  This 
is  not  barbed,  and  does  not  therefore  remain  in  the  seal's 
body,  but  can  be  used  again  and  again  until  the  animal  is 

^  Arctic  Exploratiotis^  vol.  ii.  p.  129.  ^  Crantz,  p.  154. 


Fig.  272. — Esquimaux 
spear-head,  actual  size. 


THE   ESQUIMAUX 


501 


exhausted.  The  second  way  is  the  "  clapper-hunt."  If 
the  Esquimaux  find,  or  can  drive  any  seals  into  the  creeks 
or  inlets,  they  frighten  them  by  shouting,  clapping,  and 
throwing  stones  every  time  they  come  up  to 
breathe,  until  at  last  they  are  exhausted  and 
easily  killed.  In  winter,  when  the  sea  is 
frozen,  the  seals,  which  are  obliged  to  come 
up  from  time  to  time  for  the  sake  of  air, 
keep  open  certain  breathing-holes  for  this 
purpose,  and  the  Esquimaux,  when  he  has 
found  one  of  these,  waits  patiently  till  the 
seal  makes  its  appearance,  when  he  kills  it 
instantly  with  his  harpoon. 

Fig.  274  represents  a  modern  chert  Esqui- 
maux harpoon  head  found  in  the  body  of  a 
whale.      "While  the 
Dundee     whaling 
steamship    Eclipse^ 
commanded   by  Cap- 
tain Milne,  was  fish- 
ing  in  Coutt's  Inlet, 
Fig.    273.  —  Davis  Straits,  a  large 
bone'^^har'^  whalc  was  harpooncd 
poon,   one-  and     killed.       While 
Iciulile'^  the    animal    was     in 
process  of  dissection, 
one  of  the  knives  came  in  con- 
tact with  some    hard   substance, 
betokening  the  presence  of  some 
foreign    body,  which   proved   to 
be  the  lance-head  of  chert,  em- 
bedded in  the  blubber  at  a  depth 
of  about  three  inches  from  the 
surface.     It  measures  3^|-  inches 
long,  2^'q    inches  greatest  breadth  of  blade,    i^^r  inches 
greatest  width  of  haft,  and  in  thickness  about  half  an  inch." 
The  form  of  the  implement  is  that  of  the  "  tobang  "  or 
harpoon  formerly  used  by  the  Esquimaux  of  North-East 
America.     At    the    present  day,   howeve^,  the    harpoons 


Fig.  274. — Modern  Esquimaux' 
chert  harpoon. 


502  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

are  tipped  with  bone,  and  the  use  of  chert  has  been 
abandoned.  As  the  Esquimaux,  however,  only  attack 
whales  when  young,  this  weapon  may  have  been  in  the 
animal  for  many  years. ^ 

The  Esquimaux  are  excellent  deer-stalkers,  and  are 
much  assisted  by  the  skill  with  which  they  can  imitate 
the  cry  of  the  reindeer.  Fish  are  caught  sometimes  with 
the  hook  and  line,  sometimes  by  means  of  small  nets 
when  they  come  to  the  shore  in  shoals  to  spawn,  or 
finally  with  the  spear.  The  nets  are  made  of  "  small 
hoops  or  rings  of  whalebone,  firmly  lashed  together  with 
rings  of  the  same  material."  ^  The  fishing-lines  are  also 
made  of  whalebone.^  Salmon  are  sometimes  so  abundant 
that  in  Boothia  Felix  Sir  John  Ross  bought  a  ton  weight 
for  a  single  knife.  For  killing  birds  they  use  an  instru- 
ment in  some  respects  like  the  "bolas"  of  South  America  : 
a  number  of  stones  or  walrus  teeth  being  fastened  to 
short  pieces  of  string,  and  all  the  strings  then  tied  together 
at  the  other  end.*  The  spears,  which  are  intended  to  be 
thrown  at  birds  or  other  small  animals,  have  a  double 
fork  at  the  extremity,  and  three  other  barbed  points  near 
the  middle.  These  diverge  in  different  directions,  so 
that  if  the  end  pair  should  miss,  one  of  the  central  trio 
might  strike  the  victim.  Aquatic  birds  are  also  caught 
in  whalebone  nooses  ;  but  the  "  moulting  season  is  the 
great  bird-harvest,  as  a  few  persons  wading  into  the 
shallow  lakes  can  soon  tire  out  the  birds  and  catch  them 
by  hand."  ^ 

The  so-called  "  Arctic  Highlanders,"  however,  are  said 
to  have  no  means  of  killing  the  reindeer,  though  it  abounds 
in  their  country  ;  nor  have  they  the  art  of  fishing,  although, 
curiously  enough,  they  catch  large  numbers  of  birds  in 
small  hand-nets.  Seals,  bears,  walrus,  and  birds  constitute 
almost  the  whole  of  their  diet.^     Neither  the  American 

'  Proceedings  of  the  Soc.  Antiq.  of  Scot. ^  vol.  xxxi.,  1896-7,  p.  279. 

2  Parry,  I.e.,  p.  loo.  •*  Egede,  I.e.,  p.  107. 

*  Simpson,  I.e.,  p.  156.  ^  L.yor\'s  Joiemal,  p.  338. 

^  Kane,  Arctic  Explorations.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  208, 210.  See  also  Richardson's 
Aj-ctic  Expedition,  vol.  ii.  p.  25  ;  Simpson's  Disco'veries  in  North 
America,  p.  347  ;  Ross,  I.e.,  p.  585. 


THE   ESQUIMAUX  503 

nor  Greenland  Esquimaux  have  succeeded  in  taming  the 
reindeer.  Dogs  are  their  only  domestic  animals,  and  are 
sometimes  used  in  hunting,  but  principally  to  draw  the 
sledges. 

The  sledges  vary  much  both  in  materials  and  form  : 
according  to  Captain  Lyon,  the  best  are  made  of  the  jaw- 
bones of  the  whale,  sawn  to  about  two  inches  in  thickness, 
and  from  six  inches  to  a  foot  in  depth.  These  are  the 
runners,  and  are  shod  with  a  thin  plank  of  the  same 
material.  The  sides  are  connected  by  pieces  of  bone, 
horn,  or  wood,  firmly  lashed  together.  In  Boothia 
Sir  John  Ross  saw  sledges  in  which  the  runners  were 
made  of  salmon,  packed  into  a  cylinder,  rolled  up  in 
skins,  and  frozen  together.  In  spring  the  skins  are 
made  into  bags,  and  the  fish  are  eaten.^  Altogether 
these  sledges  are  well  constructed,  when  it  is  considered 
with  what  simple  tools  they  are  made. 

The  dogs  by  which  these  sledges  are  drawn  are  by  no 
means  easy  to  manage.  Each  has  a  separate  trace 
attached  to  the  front  of  the  sledge,  passing  between  the 
legs,  and  fastened  in  front  to  a  collar.  The  dogs  there- 
fore are  nearly  abreast,  and  the  traces  are  very  liable  to 
become  entangled.  The  team  is  guided  by  throwing  the 
lash  of  the  whip  on  one  side  or  the  other,  and  repeating 
certain  words.  "  Wooa,"  as  among  our  carters,  means 
"  Stop."  2 

Their  boats  are  also  very  ingeniously  built,  and  are  of 
two  kinds  :  the  kajak  or  men's  boat,  and  the  umiak  or 
women's  boat.  The  kajak  is  from  eighteen  to  twenty  feet 
long,  eighteen  inches  broad  in  the  middle,  tapering  to  both 
ends,  and  scarcely  a  foot  deep.  It  has  no  outriggers,  and 
is  therefore  very  diflficult  to  sit  in.  It  is  quite  covered 
over  at  the  top,  with  the  exception  of  a  hole  in  the  middle, 
into  which  the  Esquimaux  puts  his  legs.  The  boat 
therefore  cannot  fill  with  water,  and  even  if  it  upsets,  can 
be  righted  again  by  a  sudden  jerk  of  the  oar,  or  rather 

'  L.c,  Appendix,  p.  24. 

'■^  Parry's  Three  Voyai!;es  for  the  Discovery  of  a  N.  ]V.  Passajre^  vol,  iv. 
p.  310, 


504  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

paddle.  Indeed,  a  skilful  Esquimaux  will  even  turn 
somersaults  in  the  water  in  his  boat.  In  spite  of  this, 
they  are  frequently  drowned  :  and,  indeed,  so  dangerous 
is  the  navigation  that  they  generally  go  in  pairs,  so  as  to 
assist  one  another  on  an  emergency,  for  the  skin  sides  of 
the  kajak  are  very  thin,  and  if  they  come  in  contact  with 
any  of  the  floating  ice  or  drift-timber  which  abound  in 
the  Greenland  seas,  are  liable  to  be  torn  open,  in  which 
case  the  unfortunate  Esquimaux  has  little  chance  of 
saving  himself.  The  umiak  is  much  larger  and  has  a 
flat  bottom.  It  is  made  of  slender  laths,  fastened  together 
with  whalebone,  and  covered  over  with  sealskins.  The 
Esquimaux  observed  by  Ross,  at  the  northern  end  of 
Baffin's  Bay,  were  entirely  without  canoes,  and  were 
"ignorant,  even  traditionally,  of  the  existence  of  a  boat."^ 
It  is,  as  he  justly  observes,  an  extraordinary  thing  to  find 
"  a  maritime  and  a  fishing  tribe  unacquainted  with  any 
means  of  floating  on  the  water"  ;  but  we  must  remember 
that  they  had  no  wood,  and  that  there  were  only  a  few 
weeks  in  the  year  when  the  sea  was  unfrozen.  No 
wonder  that  Ross's  ships  were  mistaken  for  living 
creatures,^  and  that  his  boats  excited  the  most  unbounded 
astonishment  and  admiration.  Kane  also  ^  confirms  the 
absence  of  boats,  but  he  adds  "that  the  kayak  was  known 
to  them  traditionally." 

In  the  preparation  of  skins  the  Esquimaux  use  certain 
stone  instruments  (figs.  114— ii  6),  which  have  frequently 
been  overlooked  on  account  of  their  simplicity,  but 
which  yet  are  interesting  because  they  are  exactly  similar 
to  certain  ancient  implements  which  are  very  common  in 
various  parts  of  Europe,  and  have  been  already  described 
in  page  94.  The  collection  bequeathed  by  my  lamented 
friend,  Mr  Christy,  to  the  nation,  and  which  is  now  in 
the  British  Museum,  contains  four  of  these  skin-scrapers, 
three  of  which  were  obtained  from  the  Esquimaux  north 
of  Behring  Straits.  These  are  set  in  fossil  ivory.  The 
fourth  was  found  in    a   Greenland    grave,  probably  not 

'  Ross,  Baffin's  Bay^  p.  170. 

"  L.c,  p.  118.  ^  A7-ctic  Explorations^  vol.  ii.  pp.  135,  210. 


THE   ESQUIMAUX  505 

older  than  the  fifteenth  century,  and  belonging  to  the 
Stone  Period  which  supervened  when  the  intercourse 
with  Norway  was  suspended.  Some  archaeologists  had 
considered  that  the  "  scrapers  "  were  "  probably  knives, 
the  prolonged  thick  ends  of  which  were  intended  for 
handles,  to  be  held  between  the  finger  and  thumb,  or 
possibly  for  attachment  to  a  short  wooden  shaft."  ^  The 
true  nature  and  use  of  the  ancient  skin-scrapers  has, 
however,  been  entirely  explained  by  these  modern 
specimens,  with  which  they  are  absolutely  identical. 
The  method  of  preparing  skins  is  curious  and  ingenious, 
but  very  disgusting. 

The  clothes  of  the  Esquimaux  are  made  from  the  skins 
of  reindeer,  seals,  and  birds,  sewn 
together  with  sinews.  For  needles 
they  use  bones  either  of  birds  or 
fishes  ;  yet  with  these  simple  instru- 
ments they  sew  very  strongly  and  well. 
The  outer  dress  of  the  men  resembles    ^^1-  275-— Esquimaux 

cheek-stud  of  stone. 

a  short  great-coat,  with  a  hood  that  can 
be  pulled  over  the  head  if  necessary,  and  which  serves 
as  a  substitute  for  a  hat  or  cap.  Their  under-garments 
or  shirts  are  made  of  bird-skins  with  the  feathers  inwards  ; 
or  of  skins  with  the  hair  inside  ;  sometimes,  however, 
they  wear  in  addition  another  shirt  made  of  seal's  entrails. 
Their  breeches,  "  of  which  in  winter  they  also  wear  two 
pair,  and  similarly  disposed  as  to  the  f  ur,"  ^  are  either 
of  seal-skin  or  reindeer-skin,  and  their  stockings  of  skins 
from  very  young  animals.  The  boots  are  of  smooth 
black  dressed  seal's  leather,  and  sometimes  when  at  sea 
they  wear  a  great  overcoat  of  the  same  material.  Their 
clothes  are  generally  very  greasy  and  dirty,  and  swarm 
with  lice.  The  dress  of  the  women  does  not  differ  much 
from  that  of  the  men. 

Among  the  western  tribes  the  principal  ornaments  are 
cheek-studs  (fig.  275)  or  pieces  of  polished  stone  or  bone, 
which  are  worn  in  the  lower  lip  or  cheeks.  The  hole  is 
made  in  early  infancy,  and  gradually  enlarged  by  a  series 

'  See  Archcroloi^ia,  vol.  xxxviii.  p.  415.  -  Parry,  I.e.,  p.  495. 


5o6  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

of  "  guides."  ^  These  "  labrets,"  however,  are  not  worn 
by  the  eastern  tribes.  According  to  Richardson,  they 
are  in  use  from  Behring  Straits  to  the  Mackenzie  River.^ 
They  are  worn  exclusively  by  the  men.  The  women 
paint  their  eyebrows  ;  and  tattoo  the  face,  and  especially 
the  chin,  in  blue  lines.^  The  other  ornaments  consist  of 
strips  of  variously  coloured  fur,  and  fringes  of  pierced 
teeth,  generally  those  of  the  fox  or  wolf.  Among  the 
Esquimaux  visited  by  Captain  Lyon,  the  ornaments  were 
all  appropriated  by  the  men.*  Some  of  the  families  are 
in  the  habit  of  tattooing  themselves. 

The  men  hunt  and  fish.  They  make  the  weapons  and 
implements,  and  prepare  the  woodwork  of  the  boats. 
The  women  ^  are  the  cooks,  prepare  the  skins,  and  make 
the  clothes.  They  also  repair  the  houses,  tents,  and 
boats,  the  men  doing  only  carpenter's  work.  Though 
they  do  not  appear  to  be  harshly  treated,  still  the  women 
have  certainly  "  a  hard  and  almost  slavish  life  of  it," 
although  perhaps,  after  all,  not  more  so  than  the  men. 

The  Esquimaux  are  not  altogether  without  music.  They 
have  a  kind  of  drum,  and  sing  both  alone  and  in  chorus. 
They  are  acquainted  with  several  kinds  of  games,**  both 
of  strength  and  skill,  and  are  fond  of  dances,  which  are 
often  very  indecent.  One  of  their  games  resembled  our 
cat's-cradle,^  and  Kane  saw  the  children  in  Smith's  Sound 
playing  hockey  on  the  ice.  The  Esquimaux  have  also  a 
great  natural  ability  for  drawing.  In  many  cases  they 
have  made  rude  maps  for  our  officers,  which  have  turned 
out  to  be  substantially  correct.  Many  of  their  bone 
implements  are  covered  with  sketches.  Figs.  276-278 
represent  three  bone  drill-bows  presented  to  the  Ash- 
molean  Museum  by  Captain  Beechey,  and  which  I  pre- 
sume to  be  some  of  those  which  he  obtained  in  Hotham 
Inlet,  Kotzebue  Sound,  and  described  in    his    Voyage  to 

^  Vancouver's   Voyaj^e,  vol.  ii.  p.  280  ;   see  also  p.  408  ;  Belcher,  I.e., 
p.  141. 

2  Arctic  Expedition.,  vol.  i.  p.  355. 

^  Beechey's  Voyage,  vol.  i.  p.  280. 

'•  'Lyon's  Jourfial,  p.  314.  ^  Crantz,  p.  164. 

"  Egede,  I.e.,  p.  162.  '   Hall,  I.e.,  vol.  ii.  p.  316. 


THE   ESQUIMAUX 


507 


the  Pacific.  In  fig.  278  we  see  yourts,  or  winter-houses, 
in  two  cases,  with  dogs  standing  on  them  ;  men  armed 
with  bows  and  arrows,  and  others 
dragging  seals  home  over  the  ice, 
and  one  man  about  to  spear  a  rein- 
deer with  a  movable-headed  harpoon. 
In  fig.  277  are  reindeer,  geese,  a 
baidar,  or  flat-bottomed  boat,  a  tent, 
round  which  various  articles  of 
clothing  are  hung  up  to  dry,  a 
woman,  apparently  engaged  in  the 
preparation  of  food,  and  a  hunting 
scene.  A  decoy,  roughly  represent- 
ing the  head  and  antlers  of  a  rein- 
deer, has  been  put  up  ;  and  a  real 
reindeer,  while  unsuspiciously  brows- 
ing close  by,  is  about  to  be  shot  by 
an  Esquimaux  hunter.  In  fig,  276 
are  represented  two  animals,  ap- 
parently intended  for  crocodiles  ; 
the  draughtsman  must,  I  think, 
have  seen  drawings  of  this  animal 
in  some  European  vessel. 

According  to  Crantz,  the  Green- 
land Esquimaux  "  have  neither  a 
religious  nor  an  idolatrous  worship, 
nor  so  much  as  any  ceremonies  to 
be  perceived  tending  towards  it."  ^ 
This  statement  has  been  confirmed 
by  many  other  observers.^  Their 
burial  ceremonies  have,  however, 
been  supposed  by  some  to  indicate 
a  belief  in  the  resurrection.  They 
generally  bend  the  body  into  a  sit-      fig.  276.-Drawinpon 

o  J  ...  /       ,  Esquimaux  bone  implement. 

tnig  posture,  brmgmg  the  knees  up 

under   the   chin,   and  then  wrap   the    corpse    in    one   of 

»  Z.c,  p.  197. 

2  Graah's  Voyuj^e  to  Greenland,  p.  123  ;  Ross,  Baffin's  Bay,  vol.  i. 
p.  175  :  Voyai^-e  of  Discovery,  p.  128;  Parry,  I.e.,  p.  551  ;  Richardson's 
Arctic  Expedition,  vol.  ii.  p.  44  ;  Egede,  I.e.,  p.  183. 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


•ik 


__  f  in  - 


Fig.  277.  —  Drawings 
on  Esquimaux  bone 
implement. 


their  best  skins.  For  the  grave  they 
choose  some  high  place,  and  over  the 
corpse  they  make  a  heap  of  stones. 
Near  the  body  some  of  them  place  the 
implements  of  the  deceased,  and  even 
sometimes,  if  he  was  a  man,  his  kajak  ; 
believing,  as  it  has  been  said,  that  they 
will  be  of  use  to  him  in  the  new  world. 
Egede,^  however,  expressly  denies  that 
it  is  done  with  any  such  idea.  This 
view  is  also  confirmed  by  Hall,  accord- 
ing to  whom  the  Esquimaux  have  a 
superstitious  objection  to  use,  or  even 
touch,  anything  which  has  been  in  a 
house  containing  a  dead  body.^  It  is, 
perhaps,  the  same  idea  which  induces 
them  to  remove  a  corpse,  not  through 
the  ordinary  entrance,  but  by  way  of 
the  window.^  In  other  cases,  when  a 
person  is  evidently  dying,  they  place  by 
him  everything  which  can  soothe  and 
comfort  his  last  moments,  and  then 
leave  the  igloo,  or  house,  which  they 
close  up,  thus  converting  it  into  a  tomb.^ 
Crantz  tells  us  that  they  "  lay  a  dog's 
head  by  the  grave  of  a  child,  for  the 
soul  of  a  dog  can  find  its  way  anywhere, 
and  will  show  the  ignorant  babe  the 
way  to  the  land  of  souls,"  and  this  is 
admitted  by  Egede.  Moreover,  the 
custom  of  occasionally  burying  models 
of  implements,  instead  of  the  imple- 
ments themselves,  tends  to  the  same 
conclusion. 

Captain   Cook  saw  burial-mounds  of 

1  L.c,  p.  151. 

2  L.c,  vol.  i.  p.  201,  vol.  ii.  p.  221. 

^  Graah,  I.e.,  p.   128  ;   Ross,  Arctic  Expedition, 
1829-33,  p.  290. 
"*  Graah,  I.e.,  p.  126. 


THE   ESQUIMAUX 


509 


earth  or  stone  at  Oonalashka.  One  of  the  latter  was 
near  the  village,  and  he  observed  that, 
in  accordance  with  a  custom  which  seems 
to  prevail  all  over  the  world,  everyone 
who  passed  threw  a  stone  on  it.^  Infants, 
if  unfortunate  enough  to  lose  their 
mothers,  are  always  buried  with  them  ; 
and  sickly  aged  people  are  sometimes 
buried  alive,  as  it  is  considered  a  kindness 
to  spare  them  the  pain  of  a  lingering 
death.  The  Esquimaux  observed  by 
Captain  Parry  had  a  superstitious  idea 
that  any  weight  pressing  upon  the  corpse 
would  give  pain  to  the  deceased.^  Such 
a  belief  would  naturally  give  rise,  in  a 
more  favoured  country,  to  vaulted  tumuli ; 
but  in  the  extreme  north,  the  only  result 
is  that  the  dead  bodies  are  but  slightly 
covered  up,  in  consequence  of  which  the 
foxes  and  dogs  frequently  dig  them  up 
and  eat  them.  This  the  natives  regard 
with  the  utmost  indifference  ;  they  leave 
the  human  bones  lying  about  near  the 
huts,  among  those  of  animals  which  have 
served  for  food  :  another  reason  for  doubt- 
ing whether  their  burial  customs  can  be 
regarded  as  satisfactory  evidence  of  any 
very  definite  and  general  belief  in  a  resur- 
rection, or  whether  the  objects  which 
they  bury  with  their  friends  are  really 
supposed  to  be  of  actual  use  to  them. 
On  the  whole,  the  burial  customs  of  the 
Esquimaux  are  very  like  those  of  which 
we  find  evidence  in  the  ancient  tumuli  of 
Northern  and  Western  Europe. 

In    character    the     Esquimaux    are     a 
quiet,  peaceable  people.     Those  observed 


¥. 


Voyaj^c  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  vol.  ii.  p.  519. 

z..^.,  pp.  395.417, 550- 


Fig.  278. — Drawings 
oil  Esquimaux  bone 
implemenl. 


5IO  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

by  Ross,  in  Baffin's  Bay,  "  could  not  be  made  to  under- 
stand what  was  meant  by  war,  nor  had  they  any  warlike 
weapons."  ^  Like  other  savages,  they  resemble  children 
in  a  great  many  respects.  They  are  such  bad  arithme- 
ticians that  the  "  enumeration  of  ten  is  a  labour,  and  of 
fifteen  an  impossibility  with  many  of  them."  ^  Dr  Rae, 
who  was  much  attached  to  the  Esquimaux,  assures  us 
that  if  a  man  is  asked  the  number  of  his  children,  he 
is  generally  much  puzzled.  After  counting  some  time 
on  his  fingers,  he  will  probably  consult  his  wife,  and  the 
two  often  differ,  even  though  they  may  not  have  more 
than  four  or  five.^ 

Amongst  the  Esquimaux  both  polygamy  and  polyandry 
appear  to  occur.  A  strong  or  skilful  man  has  often  more 
than  one  wife,  a  beautiful  or  clever  woman  in  some  cases 
more  than  one  husband.*  Again,  the  temporary  loan  of 
a  wife  is  considered  a  mark  of  peculiar  friendship  ;  in 
which,  however,  the  advantage  is  not  all  on  one  side, 
as  a  large  family,  far  from  being  any  incumbrance,  is 
among  the  Esquimaux  a  great  advantage.^  Apart,  more- 
over, from  these  recognized  customs,  it  does  not  appear 
that  the  Esquimaux  set  any  very  high  value  on  the 
virtue  of  chastity. 

They  are  excessively  dirty.  Considering  the  difficulty 
in  obtaining  enough  water  even  to  drink  during  the 
greater  part  of  the  year,  we  cannot,  perhaps,  wonder  that 
they  never  dream  of  washing.  Their  word  for  dirt,  eherk^ 
conveys  no  idea  of  anything  disagreeable  or  offensive  ;  ^ 
but,  in  justice  to  them,  we  must  remember  that  the 
extreme  cold,  by  preventing  putrefaction,  removes  one 
of  our  principal  inducements  to  cleanliness,  and  at  the 
same  time  induces  so  great  a  scarcity  of  liquid  water  as 
to  render  washing  almost  an  impossibility.  Indeed,  they 
often  have  difficulty  in  procuring  enough  even  for  drink- 
ing purposes. 

'  L.c.^  p.  1 86.  '^  Parry,  I.e.,  p.  251. 

'  See,  for  a  curious  instance  of  this,  Graah,  I.e.,  p.  131. 

^  Ross,  I.e.,  p.  273.  "^  lb..  I.e.,  p.  515. 

**  Kane,  Aretic  Explorations,  vol.  ii.  p.  116. 


THE    ESQUIMAUX  511 

As  a  general  rule,  it  is  impossible  to  put  any  dependence 
on  their  promises,  not  so  much  that  they  are  intentionally 
deceitful  as  on  account  of  the  wavering  and  inconstant 
disposition  which  they  possess  in  common  with  so  many 
other  savages.  Among  themselves  a  successful  huntsman 
or  fisherman  is  always  ready  to  share  his  seal  or  walrus 
with  his  less  fortunate  neighbours  ;  but  he  expects,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  that  sufficient  return  will  be  made  to 
him  when  an  opportunity  occurs.  They  give  away  no- 
thing themselves  without  expecting  to  receive  as  much 
again,  and,  being  unable  to  imagine  any  other  line  of 
conduct,  are  naturally  very  deficient  in  gratitude.  Sir  John 
Ross,  however,  and  Dr  Rae  consider  that  the  Esquimaux 
encountered  by  them  were  neither  ungrateful  nor  particu- 
larly selfish.  In  other  respects  also  these  appear  to  have 
been  very  favourable  specimens  of  the  race.  Though 
not  cruel,  the  Esquimaux  seem  to  be  a  somewhat  heartless 
people.  They  do  not,  indeed,  feel  any  actual  pleasure 
in  the  infliction  of  pain,  but  they  will  take  little  trouble 
to  remove  or  relieve  suffering.  They  are  also  great 
thieves  ;  but,  as  Captain  Parry  truly  observes,^  we  must 
"  make  due  allowance  for  the  degree  of  temptation  to 
which  they  were  daily  exposed,  amidst  the  boundless  stores 
of  wealth  which  our  ships  appear  to  them  to  furnish." 
According  to  Hall,^  moreover,  they  are  strictly  honest 
among  themselves,  kind,  generous,  and  trustworthy. 

Parry  thus  describes  them  :  "  In  the  few  opportunities 
we  had  of  putting  their  hospitality  to  the  test,  we  had 
every  reason  to  be  pleased  with  them.  Both  as  to  food 
and  accommodation,  the  best  they  had  were  always  at 
our  service  ;  and  their  attention,  both  in  kind  and  degree, 
was  everything  that  hospitality  and  even  good  breeding 
could  dictate.  The  kindly  offices  of  drying  and  mending 
our  clothes,  cooking  our  provisions,  and  thawing  snow 
for  our  drink,  were  performed  by  the  women  with  an 
obliging  cheerfulness  which  we  shall  not  easily  forget, 
and  which  commanded  its  due  share  of  our  admiration 
and  esteem.     While  thus  their  guest,  I   have  passed  an 

1  Z..r.,  p.  522.  2  j^c.^  vol.  ii.  p.  312. 


512  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

evening  not  only  with  comfort,  but  with  extreme  gratifica- 
tion ;  for,  with  the  women  working  and  singing,  their 
husbands  quietly  mending  their  lines,  the  children  playing 
before  the  door,  and  the  pot  boiling  over  the  blaze  of 
a  cheerful  lamp,  one  might  well  forget  for  the  time  that 
an  Esquimaux  hut  was  the  scene  of  this  domestic  comfort 
and  tranquillity  ;  and  I  can  safely  affirm  with  Cartwright 
that,  while  thus  lodged  beneath  their  roof,  I  know  no 
people  whom  I  would  more  confidently  trust,  as  respects 
either  my  person  or  my  property,  than  the  Esquimaux."  ^ 
Dr  Rae  has  also  a  very  high  opinion  of  them,  and 
they  seem  from  all  accounts  to  present  the  remarkable 
phenomenon  of  a  really  high  state  of  morality  without 
anything  which  can  be  called  religion. 

The  North  American  Indians 

The  aboriginal,  or  at  least  the  pre-Columbian,  inhabitants 
of  North  America,  fall  naturally  into  three  divisions  :  the 
Esquimaux  in  the  extreme  north,  the  Indian  tribes  in 
the  centre,  and  the  comparatively  civilized  Mexicans  in 
the  south.  The  central  tribes,  which  occupied  by  far 
the  greater  extent  of  the  continent,  were  again  divided  by 
the  Rocky  Mountains  into  two  great  groups,  that  on 
the  western  side  being  in  much  the  most  abject  condition. 
Though  no  doubt  there  was  and  is  an  immense  difference 
between  different  tribes — and  particularly  between  the 
semi-agricultural  nations  of  the  west  and  the  filthy 
barbarians  of  northern  California — still,  as  Mr  Schoolcraft, 
to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  an  excellent  work  on  the 
History^  Condition^  and  Prospects  of  the  Indian  Tribes^  truly 
says,  "  their  manners  and  customs,  their  opinions  and 
mental  habits,  had,  wherever  they  were  inquired  into,  at 
the  earliest  dates,  much  in  common.  Their  modes  of 
war  and  worship,  hunting  and  amusements  were  very 
similar.      In  the  sacrifice  of  prisoners  taken  in  war  ;  in 

^  Parry's  Three  Voyages  for  the  Discovery  of  a  North-  West  Passage., 
vol.  V.  p.  13. 

'^  Published  by  authority  of  Congress,  Philadelphia,  1853  ;  see  also 
Bancroft,  The  Native  Races  of  t lie  Pacific  States. 


NORTH   AMERICAN    INDIANS  513 

the  laws  of  retaliation  ;  in  the  sacred  character  attached 
to  public  transactions  solemnized  by  smoking  the  pipe  ; 
in  the  adoption  of  persons  taken  in  war,  in  families  ;  in 
the  exhibition  of  dances  on  almost  every  occasion  that 
can  enlist  human  sympathy  ;  in  the  meagre  and  inartificial 
style  of  music  ;  in  the  totemic  tie  that  binds  relationships 
together,  and  in  the  system  of  symbols  and  figures  cut 
and  marked  on  their  grave-posts,  on  trees,  and  sometimes 
on  rocks,  there  is  a  perfect  identity  of  principles,  arts, 
and  opinions.  The  mere  act  of  wandering  and  petty 
warfare  kept  them  in  a  savage  state,  though  they  had 
the  element  of  civilization  with  them  in  the  maize."  ^ 

As  regards  dress,  many  of  the  Indian  chiefs  had 
magnificent  dresses  of  skins  and  feathers.  Some  of  the 
tribes,  indeed,  wore  no  clothes  ;  but  this  was  rarely  the 
case  with  the  women,  and  even  the  men  had  generally 
at  least  a  loin-cloth.  The  amount  of  clothing,  however, 
depended  very  much  on  the  temperature.  In  the  plains 
and  forests  of  the  tropical  and  southern  latitudes,  "  the 
Indian  wears  little  or  no  clothing  during  a  large  part 
of  the  year  "  ;  but  it  is  very  different  on  the  mountains 
and  in  the  north,  where  the  common  dress  was  the 
breech-cloth  and  moccasins,  with  a  buffalo-skin  thrown 
over  the  shoulders.  The  inhabitants  of  Vancouver's 
Island  had  mats,  made  either  of  dog's-wool  alone,  or  of 
dog's -wool  and  goose -down  together,  or  of  threads 
obtained  from  cedar-bark.  They  often  wore  "  necklaces 
of  shells,  claws,  or  wampum  ;  feathers  on  the  head  and 
armlets,  as  well  as  ear  and  nose  jewels."'"^  Many  of 
the  Indian  tribes  are  clean  in  their  person,  and  frequently 
use  both  the  sweat-house  and  cold  bath  ;  others  are 
described  as  repulsive  in  countenance  and  filthy  both  in 
person  and  habit. 

Among  the  western  tribes  tattooing  is  very  general 
with  the  women,  though  not  carried  to  any  great  extent. 

The  eastern  tribes  do  not  generally  disfigure  themselves 
artificially,  except  indeed  by  the  use  of  paint ;  but  it  is 
very  different  in  the  west.     The  Sachet  Indians  of  De 

'  L.c,  vol.  ii.  p.  47.  ^  Schoolcraft,  vol.  iii.  p.  6q. 


514  PREHISTORIC  TIMES 

Fuca's  Straits  wear  pieces  of  bone  or  wood  passed  through 
the  cartilage  of  the  nose  ;  the  Classet  Indians  cut  their 
noses  when  they  capture  a  whale  ;  among  the  Babines, 
who  live  north  of  Columbia  River,  the  size  of  the  under- 
lip  is  the  standard  of  female  beauty.-^  A  hole  is  made  in 
the  under-lip  of  the  infant,  in  which  a  small  bone  is 
inserted  ;  from  time  to  time  the  bone  is  replaced  by  a 
larger  one,  until  at  last  a  piece  of  wood  three  inches  long 
and  an  inch  and  a  half  wide  is  inserted  in  the  orifice, 
which  makes  the  lip  protrude  to  a  frightful  extent.  The 
process  appears  to  be  very  painful. 

Owing  to  the  almost  universal  custom  of  fastening 
babies  to  a  cradle-board,  the  American  skulls  are  charac- 
terized by  a  flattened  occiput.  This  peculiarity  does  not 
now  occur  in  European  heads,  but  it  is  found  in  many 
ancient  skulls  from  various  parts  of  the  old  continents, 
and  indicates,  as  pointed  out  by  Vesalius,  Gosse,  and 
Wilson,  that  the  cradle-board,  though  long  abandoned, 
was  at  one  time  used  in  Western  Europe,  as  it  is  even 
now  among  the  Indians  of  North  America,  The  extra- 
ordinary practice  of  moulding  the  form  of  the  head  was 
common  to  several  of  the  Indian  tribes.  It  prevailed  in 
Mexico  and  Peru,  in  the  Carib  Islands,  and  among  the 
savage  tribes  of  Oregon.  Among  the  Natchez  the  de- 
formity is  described  by  the  historian  of  De  Soto's  expedi- 
tion as  consisting  of  an  upward  elongation  of  the  cranium, 
until  it  terminated  in  a  point  or  edge.  The  Choctaws, 
though  enemies  of  the  Natchez,  "improved"  their  heads 
in  the  same  way.  Their  children  were  placed  upon  a 
board,  and  a  bag  of  sand  was  laid  upon  the  forehead, 
"  which,  by  continual  gentle  compressure,  gives  the 
forehead  somewhat  the  form  of  a  brick  from  the  temples 
upwards,  and  by  these  means  they  have  high  and  lofty 
foreheads  sloping  off  backwards."^  The  Waxsaws, 
Muscogees  or  Crees,  Catawbas,  and  Altacapas,  are 
described  as  having  had  a  similar  custom.     It  was,  how- 

'  Kean's  Indians  of  North  America,  p.   242  ;  Vancouver,  I.e.,  vol.  ii. 
pp.  280,  408. 

2  Schoolcraft,  I.e.,  vol.  ii,  p.  324. 


NORTH   AMERICAN   INDIANS  515 

ever,  only  the  male  infants  which  were  treated  in  this 
manner.  Among  the  Nootka-Columbians  the  practice 
of  flattening  the  head  was  universal.  The  child  was 
placed  in  a  box  or  cradle  lined  with  moss.  The  Newatees, 
a  tribe  residing  on  the  north  end  of  Vancouver's  Island, 
forced  the  head  into  a  conical  shape  by  means  of  a  cord 
of  deer-skin  padded  with  the  inner  bark  of  the  cedar-tree. 
The  cord,  which  is  about  as  thick  as  a  man's  thumb,  is 
wound  round  the  infant's  head,  and  gradually  forces  it  to 
take  the  shape  of  a  tapering  cone.'^  Among  the  Peruvians 
the  forehead  was  pressed  downwards  and  backwards  by 
tight  bandages,  of  which  there  seem  to  have  been  generally 
two,  leaving  a  space  between  them,  and  thus  producing  a 
well-marked  ridge  running  transversely  across  the  skull. 
Thus,  while  the  forehead  was  prevented  from  rising  and 
the  sides  of  the  head  from  expanding,  the  occipital  region 
was  allowed  full  freedom  of  growth,  and  the  development 
of  the  brain  was  forced  to  take  an  unnatural  direction. 
It  is  very  remarkable  that  this  unnatural  process  does  not 
appear  to  have  any  prejudicial  effect  on  the  minds  of  the 
sufferers.'^ 

Hearne  states  that  the  Northern  Indians  had  no  religion  ; 
even  the  celebrated  "  five  nations  "  of  Canada,  according 
to  Colden,  had  no  religion,  nor  any  word  for  God. 
Burnet  ^  never  found  any  semblance  of  worship  among 
the  Comanches.  In  the  central  parts  of  North  America, 
however,  the  Indian  tribes  generally  believed  in  the 
existence  of  a  Great  Spirit,  and  the  survival  of  the  soul  ; 
but  they  seem  to  have  had  scarcely  any  religious  observ- 
ances, still  less  any  edifices  for  sacred  purposes.  The 
Dacotahs  never  pray  to  the  Creator  ;  if  they  wish  for 
fine  weather,  they  pray  to  the  weather  itself.  They  are 
said  to  have  believed  that  the  Great  Spirit  made  all 
things  except  thunder  and  rice,  but  we  are  not  told  the 
reason  for  these  two  curious  exceptions. 

1  Wilson  on  Physical  Ethnology,  Sviithsonian  Report,  1862,  p.  288. 

^  Beecher's  Voyas^e  round  the  lVo/d,\o\.  i.p.  308  ;  Wilson,  S)itithsoniaii 
Report,  1862,  p.  287. 

^  Schoolcraft,  vol.  i.  p.  237.  See  also  Richardson's  Arctic  Expedition, 
vol.  ii.  p.  21. 


5i6  PREHISTORIC  TIMES 

The  social  position  of  the  women  seems  to  have  been 
very  degraded  among  the  aboriginal  tribes  of  North 
America.  "Their  wives,  or  dogs,  as  some  of  the  Indians 
term  them,"  were  indeed  well  treated  as  long  as  they  did 
all  the  work  and  there  was  plenty  to  eat  ;  but  through- 
out the  Continent,  as  indeed  among  all  savages,  the 
domestic  drudgery  falls  to  their  lot,  while  the  men  hunt 
and  make  war  ;  though  in  justice  to  them  we  must 
remember  that  the  former  at  least  of  these  two  occupa- 
tions was  of  the  greatest  possible  importance,  and  that 
upon  it  depended  their  principal  means  of  subsistence. 
Polygamy  generally  prevailed  ;  the  husband  had  absolute 
power  over  his  wives,  and  the  marriage  lasted  only  as 
long  as  he  pleased.  Among  some  of  the  North  Californian 
Indians  it  is  not  thought  right  to  beat  the  wives,  but  the 
men  "  allow  themselves  the  privilege  of  shooting  such  as 
they  tired  of."^  Among  the  Dogribs  and  other  northern 
tribes,  the  women  are  the  property  of  the  strongest. 
Everyone  is  considered  to  have  both  a  legal  and  moral 
right  to  take  the  wife  of  any  man  weaker  than  he  is.  In 
fact,  the  men  fight  for  the  possession  of  the  women,  just 
like  stags  and  the  males  of  other  wild  beasts.^  Lending 
wives  is  a  frequent  custom.^ 

"  Imperturbability,*  in  all  situations,  is  one  of  the  most 
striking  and  general  traits  of  the  Indian  character.  To 
still  his  muscles  to  resist  the  expression  of  all  emotion 
seems  to  be  his  great  ambition  ;  and  this  is  particularly 
observed  on  public  occasions.  Neither  fear  nor  joy  are 
permitted  to  break  this  trained  equanimity."  Even 
among  relations  "  it  is  not  customary  to  indulge  in  warm 
greetings.  The  pride  and  stoicism  of  the  hunter  and 
warrior  forbid  it.  The  pride  of  the  wife,  who  has  been 
made  the  creature  of  rough  endurance,  also  forbids  it." 

But  perhaps  the  most  remarkable  evidence  of  this  is 
the  fact  that  some  of  the  American  languages,  and  even 

1  Colonel  M'Kee  in  Schoolcraft's  Indian  Tribes^  vol.  iii.  p.  127. 
^  See  Hearne'sy^?;^;';/^  to  the  Copper-Mine  River ^  p.  104. 
3  Hearne,  /.r.,  p.  128  ;  Carver's  Travels^  p.  131  ;  James'  Expedition  to 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  vol.  i.  p.  212. 
^  Schoolcraft,  vol.  iii.  p.  58. 


NORTH   AMERICAN   INDIANS  517 

the  Algonquin,  although  one  of  the  richest,  contained  no 
word  for  "  to  love "  ;  and  when  Eliot  translated  the 
Bible  for  them  in  1661  he  was  obliged  to  coin  one.  He 
introduced  the  word  "  woman "  to  supply  the  want. 
Again,  the  Tinne  language  ^  contains  no  word  to  express 
"  dear  "  or  "  beloved."  It  is  only  fair  to  add  that  Kane 
found  the  Cree  Indians  swearing  in  French,  having  no 
oaths  in  their  own  language.^  Mr  Schoolcraft  records, 
as  an  indication  that  they  are  in  reality  of  affectionate 
disposition,  that  he  "  once  saw  a  Fox  Indian  on  the  banks 
of  the  Mississippi,  near  whose  wigwam  I  had,  unnoticed 
to  him,  wandered,  take  up  his  male  infant  in  his  arms, 
and  several  times  kiss  it."  ^  The  special  mention  of  this 
fact  conveys  a  different  impression  from  that  which  was 
intended.  Nevertheless,  among  the  better  tribes  many 
no  doubt  are  capable  of  feeling  strong  affection,  and  there 
are  even  cases  on  record  in  which  the  father  has  redeemed 
his  son  from  the  stake,  and  actually  been  burnt  in  his 
stead. 

Partly  no  doubt  from  the  hatred  produced  by  almost 
incessant  wars,  partly  perhaps  encouraged  by  the  stoical 
disregard  of  pain  which  it  was  their  pride  to  affect,  the 
North  American  Indians  were  very  cruel  to  captives  taken 
in  war.  Scalping  seems  to  have  been  an  universal  practice, 
and  it  is  even  said  that  the  Sioux  sometimes  ate  the  hearts 
of  their  enemies,  every  one  of  the  war-party  getting  a 
mouthful,  if  possible. 

Infanticide  was  common  in  the  north,  but  does  not 
seem  to  have  prevailed  among  the  southern  tribes  to  any 
great  extent  ;  and  until  the  advent  of  Europeans  they  do 
not  appear  to  have  had  any  fermented  liquors.  The 
Sioux,  Assiniboines  and  other  tribes  on  the  Missouri  are 
said  to  have  habitually  abandoned  those  who  from  age  or 
infirmities  were  unable  to  follow  the  hunting-camps. 
The  same  was  frequently  the  case  among  the  northern 
tribes. 

Copper  is  found  native  in  the   northern  districts,  and 

^  Richardson's  Arctic  Expedition^  vol.  ii.  p.  24. 

2  Z.C.,  p.  339.  ■*  L.c,  vol.  iii.  p.  64. 


5i8  PREHISTORIC  TIMES 

even  before  the  advent  of  the  Europeans  was  used  for 
hatchets,  bracelets,  etc  Nevertheless,  it  was  used  rather 
as  a  stone  than  as  a  metal  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  Indians  did 
not  heat  it  and  run  it  into  moulds,  or  work  it  when  hot, 
but  simply  took  advantage  of  its  malleability  and  hammered 
it  into  form,  without  the  assistance  of  heat.  Metallic 
vessels  were  quite  unknown  to  the  aborigines  of  North 
America. 

The  implements  of  the  Shoshonees,  or  Snake  Indians, 
are  described  by  Wyeth.  Their  possessions  were  confined 
to  "  the  pot,  bow  and  arrow,  knives,  graining  tools,  awls, 
root-digger,  fish-spears,  nets,  a  kind  of  boat  or  raft,  the 
pipe,  mats  for  shelter,  and  implements  to  produce  fire."  ^ 

The  pot  was  made  of  "  long  tough  roots,  wound  in 
plies  around  a  centre,  shortening  the  circumference  of  the 
outer  plies  so  as  to  form  a  vessel  in  the  shape  of  an  in- 
verted beehive."  They  were  so  well  made  as  to  be  quite 
water-tight,  and  though,  of  course,  they  could  not  be  put 
on  the  fire,  still  they  were  used  for  boiling,  in  the  manner 
already  described  as  practised  by  other  savages.  The 
Dacotahs  are  said  to  have  sometimes  boiled  animals  in 
their  own  skins,  taking  the  skin  off  whole,  suspending  it 
at  the  four  corners,  and  making  use  of  boiling  stones  as 
usual.  They  had  also  stone  vessels,  but  these  were  rare, 
and  probably  used  only  as  mortars. 

Their  bows  are  skilfully  made  of  the  horns  of  the 
mountain  sheep  and  elk,  or  sometimes  of  wood.  "  The 
string  is  of  twisted  sinew,  and  is  used  loose,  and  those 
using  this  bow  require  a  guard  to  protect  the  hand  which 
holds  it."  The  arrow  is  driven  with  such  force  that  it 
will  pass  right  through  the  body  of  a  horse  or  buffalo.^ 
Although  on  the  whole  far  inferior  to  the  rifle,  still,  in 
hunting,  the  bow  has  the  one  great  advantage  of  silence. 
Among  several  of  the  tribes,  arrow-making  was  a  distinct 
profession.     The  arrow-heads  are  of  obsidian,  about  three- 

*  Schoolcraft,  vol.  i.  p.  212. 

2  /did.,  I c,  vol.  iii.  pp.  35,  46  ;  Kane's  North  Ame^-ican  Indians,  p.  141  ; 
Catlin,  I.e.,  vol.  i.  p.  31,  vol.  ii.  p.  212  ;  M'Kean  and  Hall's  Indian  Tribes, 
vol.  ii.  p.  4. 


NORTH   AMERICAN    INDIANS  519 

fourths  of  an  inch  long  and  half  an  inch  wide,  and  quite 
thin.  The  base  is  expanded  and  is  inserted  into  the  split 
end  of  the  shaft,  being  kept  in  its  place  by  sinews.  The 
shaft  is  about  two  feet  and  a  half  long  ;  when  intended 
for  hunting  it  is  expanded  at  the  end,  so  that  when  it 
is  drawn  out  of  the  wound  the  arrow-head  is  extracted 
also  ;  but  the  shafts  of  war-arrows  taper  to  the  end, 
so  that  when  they  are  drawn  out  the  head  remains 
behind.  The  sling  does  not  appear  to  have  been  much 
used. 

The  knives  are  rudely  made  of  obsidian,  and  are  some- 
times fastened  in  handles  of  wood  or  horn.  The  graining 
tools  for  preparing  skins  are  sometimes  of  bone,  some- 
times of  obsidian.  Mr  Wyeth  does  not  describe  their 
form.  Awls  were  made  of  bone,  large  thorns  also  being 
sometimes  used  for  the  purpose.  Root-diggers  are  either 
made  of  horns,  or  of  crooked  sticks  pointed  and  hardened 
by  fire.  "  The  fish-spear  is  a  very  simple  and  ingenious 
implement.  The  head  is  of  bone,  to  which  a  small  strong 
line  is  attached  near  the  middle,  connecting  it  with  the 
shaft  about  two  feet  from  the  point.  Near  the  forward 
end  of  this  head  there  is  a  small  hole,  which  enters  it, 
ranging  acutely  towards  the  point  of  the  head  ;  it  is  quite 
shallow.  In  this  hole  the  front  end  of  the  shaft  is  placed." 
The  shaft  is  of  light  willow,  and  about  ten  feet  long. 
When  the  fish  is  struck,  the  shaft  is  withdrawn,  and  the 
string  at  once  pulls  the  bone  end  into  a  transverse  posi- 
tion. The  fish-nets  are  made  of  bark,  which  gives  a 
very  strong  line,  and  are  of  two  kinds,  the  scoop  and  the 
seine.  They  are,  however,  unknown  among  the  northern 
tribes  west  of  the  Mackenzie.^  The  boats  of  the  Sho- 
shonees  hardly  deserve  the  name,  and  seem  to  be  used 
only  for  crossing  rivers.  They  are  about  eight  feet  long, 
and  made  of  reeds,  but  there  is  no  attempt  to  make  them 
water-tight.  Other  tribes,  however,  have  much  better 
canoes,  made  either  of  bark  or  of  a  log  hollowed  out. 
The  pipes  are  large,  and  the  bowl  is  generally  of  fuller's- 
earth,  or  of  soapstonc.  The  mats  are  about  four  feet 
'  Richardson's  Arctic  Expedition^  vol.  ii.  p.  25. 


520 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


Fig.  279. — Dacotah  fire  drill  bow. 


long,  are  made  of  rushes,  and  are  used  either  as  beds,  or 

in  the  construction  of  wigwams. 

They  obtain  fire  by  rubbing  a  piece  of  wood  in  a  hole. 

The  Chippeways  and 
Natchez  tribes  had  an 
institution  for  keeping 
up  a  perpetual  fire,  certain 
persons  being  set  aside 
and  devoted  to  this  occu- 
pation. 

The  Dacotahs  used  a 
drill  bow  (fig.  279)  for 
the  purpose  of  obtaining 
fire.  This  instrument, 
as  shown  in  the  accom- 
panying figure,  is  a  small 

stiff  bow,  the   string  of  which  forms  a  loop  round  the 

upright  stick,  and  thus,  when  the  bow  is  moved  back- 
wards and  forwards,  gives  it  a  rotatory  movement.     The 

Iroquois    had    effected    a    still 

further       improvement,       and 

worked    with     an     instrument 

(fig.    280)    closely    resembling 

that  used  in  Western  Europe, 

in  Samoa,^  and  Ceylon,^  to  drill 

holes  in  earthenware  and  metal. 
The  use  of  the  bow  drill  is 

very    ancient.       Ulysses    used 

one  to  put  out  the  eye  of  the 

unfortunate  Cyclops.     I  myself, 

he  says,  twirled  it  round,  while 

my     companions     pulled     the 

"  thong,"    and    it    requires    no  „ 

great  stretch  of  the  imagination 

to  see  the  strap  drill  working  until  "  the  very  roots  of 

the   eye  hissed  in   the  fire."      The  bow  drill  was  used 

still  earlier  by  the  Egyptians — even  in  the  fourth  dynasty. 

^  Turner,  Nineteeii  Years  in  Polynesia^  p.  274. 
2  Davy's  Ceylon,  p.  263. 


Iroquois  fire  pump  drill. 


NORTH   AMERICAN    INDIANS  521 

The  huts  or  wigwams  of  the  North  American  Indians 
are  of  two  kinds,  one  for  summer  and  the  other  for 
winter.  The  winter  wigwam  of  the  Dacotahs  is  thus 
described  by  Schoolcraft  :  "  To  erect  one  of  them  it  is 
only  necessary  to  cut  a  few  saplings  about  fifteen  feet  in 
length,  place  the  large  ends  on  the  ground  in  a  circle, 
letting  the  tops  meet,  thus  forming  a  cone.  The  buffalo 
skins,  sewed  together  in  the  form  of  a  cap,  are  then 
thrown  over  them  and  fastened  together  with  a  few 
splints.  The  fire  is  made  on  the  ground  in  the  centre  of 
the  wigwam,  and  the  smoke  escapes  through  an  aperture 
at  the  top.  These  wigwams  are  warm  and  comfortable. 
The  other  kind  of  hut  is  made  of  bark,  usually  that  of 
the  elm."  ^  The  huts  of  the  Mandans,^  Minatarees,  etc., 
were  circular  in  form,  and  from  forty  to  sixty  feet  in 
diameter.  The  earth  was  removed  to  a  depth  of  about 
two  feet.  The  framework  was  of  timber,  covered  with 
willow  boughs,  but  leaving  a  space  in  the  middle  to 
serve  both  as  chimney  and  window.  Over  the  woodwork 
was  placed  a  thick  layer  of  earth,  and  at  the  top  of  all 
some  tough  clay,  which  was  impervious  to  water,  and  in 
time  became  quite  hard,  as  in  fine  weather  the  tops  of 
the  huts  were  the  common  lounging-place  for  the  whole 
tribe.  Though  these  dwellings  were  sometimes  kept 
very  clean  and  tidy,^  this  was  not  always  the  case. 
Speaking  of  the  Nootka  Sound  Indians,  Captain  Cook  ■* 
says :  "  The  nastiness  and  stench  of  their  houses  are, 
however,  at  least  equal  to  the  confusion.  For,  as  they  dry 
their  fish  within  doors,  they  also  gut  them  there,  which, 
with  their  bones  and  fragments  thrown  down  at  meals,  and 
the  addition  of  other  sorts  of  filth,  lie  everywhere  in  heaps, 
and  are,  I  believe,  never  carried  away  till  it  becomes 
troublesome,  from  their  size,  to  walk  over  them.  In  a 
word,  their  houses  are  as  filthy  as  hog-sties  :  everything  in 
and  about  them  stinking  of  fish,  train-oil,  and  smoke." 

•  Z.C.,  vol.  ii.  p.  191. 

^  This  tribe,  one  of  the  most  interestinj^,  has  been  entirely  swept  away 
by  the  smallpox. 

^  Catlin's  American  Indians,  vol.  i.  p.  82. 
^    Third  Voyage,  vol.  ii.  p.  316. 


522  PREHISTORIC  TIMES 

The  Wallawalla  Indians  ^  of  Columbia  dig  a  circular 
hole  in  the  ground  about  ten  or  twelve  feet  deep,  and 
from  forty  to  fifty  feet  in  circumference,  and  cover  it 
over  with  driftwood  and  mud.  A  hole  is  left  on  one 
side  for  a  door,  and  a  notched  pole  serves  as  a  ladder. 
Here  twelve  or  fifteen  persons  burrow  through  the 
winter,  requiring  very  little  fire,  as  they  generally  eat 
their  salmon  raw,  and  the  place  is  warm  from  the  numbers 
collected  together  and  the  absence  of  ventilation.  In 
summer  they  use  lodges  made  of  rushes  or  mats  spread 
on  poles.  This  tribe  lives  principally  on  salmon,  pre- 
ferring it  putrid. 

South  of  the  Gulf  of  St  Lawrence  and  west  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains  almost  all  the  tribes  seem  to  have 
grown  more  or  less  maize.  In  the  Carolinas  and  Virginia 
the  Indians  raised  large  quantities,  and  "  all  relied  on  it  as 
one  of  their  fixed  means  of  subsistence."  ^  The  Delawares 
had  extensive  maize-fields  at  the  time  of  the  discovery  of 
America.  In  1527,  De  Vaca  saw  it  in  small  quantities  in 
Florida,  and  De  Soto,  twelve  years  later,  found  it 
abundant  among  the  Muscogees,  Choctaws,  Chickasaws, 
and  Cherokees.  On  one  occasion  his  army  marched 
through  fields  of  it  for  a  distance  of  two  leagues.  It  is 
known  to  have  been  cultivated  by  the  Iroquois  in  16 10, 
and,  though  only  in  small  quantities,  "  by  the  hunter  com- 
munities of  the  Ohio,  the  Wabagh,  the  Miami,  and  the 
Illinois,"  as  well  as  by  the  natives  along  both  banks  of  the 
Mississippi.  The  evidences  of  ancient  agriculture  have 
been  already  alluded  to  in  the  chapter  on  North  American 
Archaeology  ;  the  maize  appears  to  have  been  the  only 
plant  actually  under  cultivation  ;  but  some  of  the  tribes 
depended  for  their  subsistence  very  much  on  roots,  etc. 
The  principal  implement  of  agriculture  seems  to  have 
been  the  hoe,  for  which  they  often  used  the  shoulder- 
blade  of  the  bison  fixed  into  a  handle  of  wood.     Wild 


^  Kane's  North  American  Indians,  p.  272  ;  United  States  Exploring 
Expedition,  vol.  iv.  p.  452. 

2  Schoolcraft,  I.e.,  vol.  i.  p.  6.  See  also  Richardson's  Arctic  Expedition, 
vol.  ii.  p.  51- 


NORTH    AMERICAN   INDIANS  523 

rice  also  grew  abundantly  in  the  shallow  lakes  and  streams 
of  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  Iowa,  Minnesota,  as  well  as  in 
the  upper  valleys  of  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri.  It 
was  gathered  by  the  women,  and  formed  one  of  their 
principal  articles  of  food.  They  went  into  the  rice-fields 
in  canoes,  and,  bending  the  stalks  in  handfuls  over  the 
sides  of  the  canoe,  beat  out  the  grain  with  paddles. 

The  North  American  Indians,  however,  depended 
mainly  on  the  animal  kingdom  for  their  subsistence. 
They  were  essentially  hunters  and  fishermen  ;  the  buffalo, 
the  deer,  and  the  salmon  supplying  them  with  their 
principal  articles  of  food.  The  buffaloes  were  sometimes 
driven  into  pounds,  sometimes  shot  on  the  open  prairie  with 
bows  and  arrows.  Fish  were  speared,  caught  in  weirs, 
etc.,  or  shot  with  the  bow.  The  Macaws  and  Clallums  on 
the  Pacific  coast  sometimes  even  killed  whales.  For  this 
purpose  they  use  large  barbed  harpoons  of  bone,  with  a 
string,  and  a  strong  sealskin  bag  filled  with  air.  This 
apparatus  was  used  in  the  same  manner  as  among  the 
Esquimaux  (ante^  p.  500).  Like  all  carnivorous  animals, 
the  Indians  alternate  between  seasons  of  great  plenty  and 
extreme  want.  Usually  game  is  abundant,  and  Noka, 
one  of  their  most  celebrated  hunters,  is  said  to  have 
killed  in  one  day  sixteen  elks,  four  buffaloes,  five  deer, 
three  bears,  a  porcupine,  and  a  lynx.  This  of  course  was 
a  very  exceptional  case.  Still  there  is  generally  some 
season  of  the  year  when  they  kill  more  game  than  is 
required  for  immediate  consumption.  In  this  case  the 
surplus  is  dried  and  made  into  pemmican.  In  winter, 
however,  they  are  often  very  short  of  provisions.  Back 
gives  a  terrible  picture  of  their  sufferings  in  famine 
times  ;^  and  Wyeth  tells  us  that  the  Shoshonees  "nearly 
starve  to  death  annually,  and  in  winter  and  spring  are 
emaciated  to  the  last  degree  ;  the  trappers  used  to  think 
they  all  eventually  died  from  starvation,  as  they  became 
old  and  feeble,"^ 

1  Arctic  Land  Rxpcditio7t,'^'^.  194-226.  See  also  Richardson's  y:/r^//<: 
Expedition^  vol.  ii.  p.  96. 

2  Schoolcraft,  vol.  i.  p.  216. 


524  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

As  might  naturally  be  expected,  the  mode  of  burial 
varies  much  in  different  parts  of  North  America.  In 
Columbia,  and  among  many  of  the  Prairie  tribes,  the 
dead  are  generally  sewn  up  in  a  skin  or  blanket,  and 
placed  either  on  the  boughs  of  a  tree  or  on  a  scaffold  ; 
the  personal  property  of  each  deceased  individual  being 
placed  near  the  body.^  In  some  cases  the  bodies  were 
placed  in  canoes,  and  deposited  among  the  branches  of 
trees.  Many  of  the  Eastern  races,  as  already  mentioned 
{ante^  p.  265),  buried  their  dead  under  tumuli.  Among 
the  Clear  Lake  Indians,  the  Carriers,  etc.,  it  was  usual  to 
burn  them,  while  in  Florida  they  were  interred  in  a 
sitting  posture.  Among  other  tribes  the  bones  of  the 
dead  were  collected  every  eight  or  ten  years,  and  laid  in 
one  common  burial-place.  Here,  therefore,  we  see  that 
even  among  nearly  allied  races  the  burial  customs  differed 
considerably. 

The  Redskins  are  not  altogether  deficient  in  art,  being 
able  to  make  rude  carvings,  and  to  trace  equally  rude 
drawings  on  their  wigwams,  robes,  etc.  ;  but  about  por- 
traits they  have  some  curious  ideas.  They  think  that  an 
artist  acquires  some  mysterious  power  over  anyone 
whose  likeness  he  mav  have  taken  :  and  on  one  occasion, 
when  annoyed  by  some  Indians,  Mr  Kane  got  rid  of 
them  at  once  by  threatening  to  draw  anyone  who 
remained.  Not  one  ventured  to  do  so.  If  the  likeness 
is  good,  so  much  the  worse  ;  it  is,  they  fancy,  half  alive 
— at  the  expense  of  the  sitter.  So  much  life,  they  argue, 
could  only  be  put  in  the  picture  by  taking  it  away  from 
the  original.  Again,  they  fancy  that  if  the  picture  were 
injured,  by  some  mysterious  connection  the  original 
would  suffer  also.  But  perhaps  the  oddest  notion  of  all 
is  recorded  by  Catlin.  He  excited  great  commotion 
among  the  Sioux  by  drawing  one  of  their  great  chiefs  in 
profile.  "  Why  was  half  his  face  left  out  ?  "  they  asked  ; 
"  Mahtocheega  was  never  ashamed  to  look  a  white  man 
in  the  face."  Mahtocheega  himself  does  not  seem  to 
have   taken   any   offence,   but    Shonka,   The    Dog,   took 

'   United  States  Explormg  Expedition^  vol.  iv.  p.  389. 


PARAGUAY   INDIANS  525 

advantage  of  the  idea  to  taunt  him.  "The  Englishman 
knows,"  he  said,  "  that  you  are  but  half  a  man  ;  he  has 
painted  but  one  half  of  your  face,  and  knows  that  the 
rest  is  good  for  nothing."  This  view  of  the  case  led 
to  a  fight,  in  which  poor  Mahtocheega  was  shot ;  and 
as  ill-luck  would  have  it,  the  bullet  by  which  he  was 
killed  tore  away  just  that  part  of  the  face  which  had  been 
omitted  in  the  drawing.  This  was  very  unfortunate  for 
Mr  Catlin,  who  had  great  difficulty  in  making  his  escape, 
and  lived  some  months  after  in  fear  for  his  life  ;  nor 
was  the  matter  settled  until  both  Shonka  and  his  brother 
had  been  killed  in  revenge  for  the  death  of  Mahtocheega. 
Like  so  many  other  savage  races,  the  North  Americans 
are  rapidly  disappearing.  Left  to  themselves  they  would 
perhaps  have  developed  an  indigenous  civilization,  but 
for  ours  they  are  unfit.  Unable  to  compete  with 
Europeans  as  equals,  and  too  proud  to  work  as  inferiors, 
they  have  profited  by  intercourse  with  the  superior  race 
only  where  the  paternal  government  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  has  protected  them  both  from  the  settlers 
and  from  themselves,  has  encouraged  hunting,  put  an 
end  to  war,  prevented  the  sale  of  spirits,  and,  in  times 
of  scarcity,  provided  food.  Ere  long  almost  the  only 
remains  of  the  Indian  blood  will,  perhaps,  be  found  in 
the  territories  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 

The  Paraguay  Indians 

The  Indians  of  Paraguay  have  been  described  by 
Dobritzhoffer  ^  and  by  Don  Felix  de  Azara,^  who  lived  a 
long  time  among  them.  He  found  them  divided  into 
several  different  nations  or  tribes,  with  at  least  forty 
distinct  languages,  and  with  different  customs.  Some  of 
them  lived  by  fishing,  but  the  greater  number  depended 
for  their  subsistence  on  the  wild  horses  and  cattle,  and 
must  therefore  have  had  different  habits  before  the 
discovery  of  America  by  the  Europeans.     Their  principal 

■   Dobritzhoffer,  History  of  the  Abipones. 

^   VoyaiTcs  dans  i Amcrique  Mcridionale,  1809. 


526  PREHISTORIC  TIMES 

arms  were  long  spears,  clubs,  and  bows  and  arrows. 
Some  tribes,  however,  as,  for  instance,  those  of  the 
Pampas,  do  not  use  bows  and  arrows,  but  prefer  the 
bolas.  In  war,  the  Indians  of  Paraguay  gave  no  quarter 
to  men,  but  spared  only  the  women  and  children. 

Their  houses,  if  we  can  call  them  so,  were  of  the 
simplest  character  ;  they  cut  three  or  four  boughs,  stuck 
the  two  ends  into  the  ground,  and  threw  over  them  a 
cow-skin.  Their  bed  consisted  of  another  skin  ;  they 
had  no  chairs  or  tables,  or  any  kind  of  furniture.  The 
men  seldom  wore  any  clothes  ;  the  dress  of  the  women 
consisted  usually  of  a  poncho,  although  among  some  of 
the  tribes,  as  the  Nalicuegas,  even  this  was  dispensed 
with.  The  art  of  washing  seems  to  have  been  entirely 
unknown,  though  Azara  admits  that  in  very  hot  weather 
they  used  sometimes  to  bathe,  rather,  however,  as  it 
would  appear,  for  coolness  than  for  cleanliness.  It  is 
unnecessary,  therefore,  to  say  that  they  were  excessively 
filthy.  They  had  no  domestic  animals,  nor  any  idea  of 
agriculture.  Their  doctors  had  but  one  remedy,  which 
they  applied  in  all  cases,  and  which  had  at  least  the 
great  merit  of  being  harmless  —  since  it  consisted  in 
applying  their  lips  to  the  seat  of  any  pain,  and  sucking 
with  all  their  force,  in  order  to  extract  the  evil. 

Many  of  the  tribes  painted  their  bodies  in  various 
ways,  and  it  was  usual  to  pierce  the  under-lip  and  insert 
a  piece  of  wood,  about  four  or  five  inches  long,  which 
they  never  removed. 

They  had  no  regular  form  of  government,  nor,  accord- 
ing to  Azara,  any  ideas  of  religion.  He  makes  this 
latter  statement  generally  for  all  the  Indians,  and  repeats 
it  particularly  for  the  following  tribes  —  namely,  the 
Charruas,  Minuanas,  Aucas,  Guaranys,  Guayanas, 
Nalicuegas,  Guasarapos,  Guatos,  Ninaquiguilas,  Guanas, 
Lenguas,  Aguilots,  Mocobys,  Abipones,  and  Paraguas  ; 
yet  it  appears  from  other  passages  that  some  at  least  of 
these  tribes  were  believers  in  witchcraft  and  in  mysterious 
evil  beings. 

Azara  describes  the  language  of  the  Guaranys  as  being 


THE   PATAGONIANS  527 

the  most  copious,  and  yet  it  was  in  many  respects  very 
deficient  ;  for  instance,  they  could  only  count  up  to  four, 
and  had  no  words  for  the  higher  numbers,  not  even  for 
five  or  six.  The  marriage  tie  was  little  regarded  among 
them  ;  they  married  when  they  liked,  and  separated  again 
when  they  pleased. 

Infanticide  was,  in  several  of  the  tribes,  the  rule, 
rather  than  the  exception  ;  the  women  brought  up  but 
one  child  each,  and  as  they  spared  only  the  one  which 
they  thought  likely  to  be  the  last,  it  often  happened  that 
they  were  left  without  any  at  all. 

The  Patagonians 

The  inhabitants  of  the  southern  parts  of  South 
America,  although  they  are  divided  into  numerous 
different  tribes,  may  be  considered  as  falling  into  two  great 
groups  :  the  Patagonians,  or  Horse  Indians,  on  the  east, 
who  have  horses  but  no  canoes  ;  and  the  Chonos  and 
Fuegians,  or  Canoe  Indians,  who  have  canoes  but  no 
horses,  and  who  inhabit  the  tempestuous  islands  on  the 
south  and  west. 

The  Yacana-kunny,  who  inhabit  the  north-eastern  part 
of  Tierra  del  Fuego,  are,  properly  speaking,  not  Fuegians, 
but  Patagonians,  and  resemble  them  in  colour,  stature, 
and  clothing,  except  the  peculiar  boots.  They  live  now 
pretty  much  as  the  mainlanders  probably  did  before  tlie 
introduction  of  horses,  and  feed  principally  on  guanacoes, 
ostriches,  birds,  and  seals,  which  they  kill  with  dogs, 
bows  and  arrows,  bolas,  slings,  lances,  and  clubs. ^  The 
habits  of  the  Patagonians  must  have  been  much  altered 
by  the  introduction  of  the  horse,  but  we  can  only  deal 
with  them  as  they  now  are. 

The  Horse  and  Canoe  Indians  offer  a  great  contrast  in 
point  of  size  ;  while  the  latter  are  short,  ill-looking,  and 
badly-proportioned,  the  former  are  considerably  above 
the  average  height,  and  are  described  by  early  travellers 
as  being  truly  gigantic.     They  were  first  visited  in    15 19 

'  Fitzroy,  I.e.,  vol.  ii.  p.  137. 


528  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

by  Magellan,  who  assures  us  that  many  of  them  were 
above  seven  feet  (French)  in  height.  In  1525  they  were 
seen  by  Garcia  de  Loaisa,  who  mentions  their  great 
stature,  but  does  not  seem  to  have  measured  them. 
Similar  statements  were  made  by  Cavendish,  Knevett, 
Sibald  de  Veert,  Van  Noort,  Spilbergen,  and  Lemaire  ; 
in  fact,  out  of  the  fifteen  first  voyagers  who  passed 
through  the  Magellanic  Straits,  not  fewer  than  nine  attest 
the  fact  of  the  gigantic  size  of  the  Patagonians  ;  in  which 
they  are  confirmed  by  the  testimony  of  several  subsequent 
travellers,  and  especially  of  Falkner,  who  assures  us  that 
he  saw  many  men  who  were  over  seven  feet  in  height. 

It  is  difl^cult  altogether  to  reject  these  statements,  and 
as  they  are  certainly  not  applicable  to  the  present  race,  it 
is  possible  that  there  may  have  been  a  change  of  size 
owing  to  the  introduction  and  general  use  of  the  horse. 

The  huts,  or  "  toldos,"  of  the  Patagonians  are  "rect- 
angular in  form,  about  ten  or  twelve  feet  long,  ten  deep, 
seven  feet  high  in  front,  and  six  feet  in  the  rear.  The 
frame  of  the  building  is  formed  by  poles  stuck  in  the 
ground,  having  forked  tops  to  hold  cross  pieces,  on 
which  are  laid  poles  for  rafters,  to  support  the  covering, 
which  is  made  of  skins  of  animals  sewn  together,  so  as  to 
be  almost  impervious  to  rain  or  wind.  The  posts  and 
rafters,  which  are  not  easily  procured,  are  carried  from 
place  to  place  in  all  their  travelling  excursions.  Having 
reached  their  bivouac,  and  marked  out  a  place  with  due 
regard  to  shelter  from  the  wind,  they  dig  holes  with  a 
piece  of  pointed  hard  wood,  to  receive  the  posts  :  and  all 
the  frame  and  cover  being  ready,  it  takes  but  a  short 
time  to  erect  a  dwelling."^ 

They  have  no  pottery,  and  for  carrying  water  the  only 
vessels  they  use  are  bladders.  Their  dress  consists 
principally  of  skins,  sewn  together  with  ostrich  sinews, 
and  often  curiously  painted  on  one  side  ;  but,  according 
to  Falkner,^  some  of  the  tribes  "  make  or  weave  fine 
mantles  of  woollen  yarn,  beautifully  dyed  with  many 
colours.     They  have  also  a  small  triangular  apron,  two 

^  Fitzroy,  /.<:.,  vol.  i.  p.  93.  -  Falkner's  Patagonia^  p.  128. 


THE   PATAGONIANS  529 

corners  of  which  are  tied  round  the  waist,  while  the  third 
passes  between  the  legs  and  is  fastened  behind.  When 
on  horseback  they  use  a  kind  of  poncho  or  mantle,  with 
a  slit  in  the  middle,  through  which  they  put  their  head. 
For  boots  they  wear  the  "  skin  of  the  thighs  and  legs  of 
mares  and  colts  "  ;  they  clean  the  skins,  and  then,  after 
drying,  soften  with  grease,  and  so  put  them  on  without 
either  shaping  or  sewing.^  They  make  brushes  of  grass, 
twigs,  and  rushes,  and  use  the  jaw  of  a  porpoise  for  a 
comb.^  The  women  wear  a  mantle,  fastened  across  the 
breast  by  a  wooden  skewer,  or  pin,  and  tied  round  the 
waist.  They  have  also  a  kind  of  apron  which  reaches 
down  to  their  knees,  but  which  only  covers  them  in 
front.  Their  boots  are  made  in  the  same  way  as  those  of 
the  men.  Like  other  savages,  they  are  fond  of  beads, 
feathers,  and  other  ornaments.  They  also  paint  themselves 
with  red,  black,  and  white,  which,  however,  to  European 
eyes  is  anything  but  an  improvement.  Their  defensive 
armour  consists  of  a  helmet  and  a  shield,  both  made  of 
thick  hide,  and  strong  enough  to  resist  either  arrows  or 
lances. 

Bows  and  arrows  have  been  abandoned  by  most  of  the 
Patagonian  tribes.  Where  used,  the  bows  are  small,  and 
the  arrows,  which  are  pointed  with  stone  or  bone,  are  said 
to  be  sometimes  poisoned.  They  have  also  clubs  and 
long  cane  lances,  most  of  which  are  now  tipped  with  iron. 
But  the  weapons  which  are  most  characteristic  of  the 
Patagonians,  and  which  are  indeed  almost  peculiar  to 
them,  are  the  bolas,^  of  which  there  are  two  or  three 
sorts.  That  used  in  war  is  a  single  rounded  stone  or  ball 
of  hardened  clay,  weighing  about  a  pound,  and  fastened 
to  a  short  rope  or  sinew  of  skin.  This  they  sometimes 
throw  at  their  adversary,  rope  and  all,  but  generally  they 
prefer  to  strike  at  his  head  with  it.  For  hunting  they 
use  two  similar  stones  fastened  together  by  a  rope,  which 

'  Wlien  first  visited  they  used  tlie  skin  of  the  guanaco  for  this  puri)ose, 
and  it  was  on  account  of  these  shoes  that  MageUan  called  them 
"  Patagonians." 

^  Fitzroy,  vol.  i.  p.  75.  •'  Falkner,  /.f.,  p.  130. 


530  PREHISTORIC  TIMES 

is  generally  three  or  four  yards  long.  One  of  the  stones 
they  take  in  their  hand,  and  then  whirling  the  other 
round  their  head,  throw  both  at  the  object  they  wish  to 
entangle.  Sometimes  several  balls  are  used,  but  two 
appears  to  be  the  usual  number.  They  do  not  try  to 
strike  their  victim  with  the  balls  themselves,  but  with  the 
rope,  "and  then  of  course  the  balls  swing  round  in 
different  directions,  and  the  thongs  become  so  '  laid  up,' 
or  twisted,  that  struggling  only  makes  the  captive  more 
secure."  ^  It  is  said  that  a  man  on  horseback  can  use 
the  "  bolas "  effectually  at  a  distance  of  eighty  yards.^ 
They  also  use  the  lasso. 

On  the  coast  their  food  consists  principally  of  fish, 
which  they  kill  either  by  diving  or  striking  them  with 
their  darts.  Guanacoes  and  ostriches  they  catch  with  the 
bolas,  and  they  also  eat  the  horse,  as  well  as  various  sorts 
of  small  game,  and  at  least  two  kinds  of  wild  roots. 
They  have  no  fermented  liquor,  and  the  only  prepared 
drink  which  they  use  is  a  decoction  of  chalks  and  the 
juice  of  berberries  mixed  with  water. 

The  death  of  a  native  is  attended  with  peculiar  cere- 
monies. The  bones,  having  been  as  much  as  possible 
freed  from  the  flesh,  are  hung  "  on  high,  upon  canes  or 
twigs  woven  together,  to  dry  and  whiten  with  the  sun 
and  rain."  One  of  the  most  distinguished  women  is 
chosen  to  perform  the  disgusting  office  of  making  the 
skeleton,  and,  during  the  process,  "  the  Indians,  covered 
with  long  mantles  of  skins,  and  their  faces  blackened  with 
soot,  walk  round  the  tent  with  long  poles  or  lances  in 
their  hands,  singing  in  a  mournful  tone  of  voice  and 
striking  the  ground,  to  frighten  away  the  Valichus  or  evil 
beings.  .  .  .  The  horses  of  the  dead  are  killed,  that 
he  may  have  wherewithal  to  ride  upon  in  the  Alhue 
Mapu,  or  Country  of  the  Dead."  In  about  a  year  the 
bones  are  "  packed  together  in  a  hide,  and  placed  upon 
one  of  the  deceased's  favourite  horses,  kept  alive  for  that 
purpose,"  and  in  this  manner  the  natives  bear  the  relics, 
sometimes  to  a  very  great  distance,  until  they  arrive  at 

'■  Fitzroy,  /.c,  vol.  ii.  p.  148.  -  Darwin's /ourna/,  p.  129. 


THE   FUEGIANS  531 

the  proper  burial-place,  where  the  ancestors  of  the  dead 
man  are  lying.  The  bones  are  arranged  in  their  proper 
positions,  and  fastened  by  string.  The  skeleton  is  then 
placed,  with  others,  in  a  square  pit,  clothed  in  the  best 
robes,  and  adorned  with  beads,  feathers,  etc.  The  arms 
of  the  deceased  are  buried  with  him,  and  round  the  grave 
are  ranged  several  dead  horses,  raised  on  their  feet,  and 
supported  with  sticks.-^  Sometimes  a  cairn  of  stones  is 
raised  over  the  grave. ^ 

Falkner  regarded  the  Patagonians  as  Polytheists,  but 
we  do  not  know  much  about  their  religion.  According 
to  the  missionaries,  neither  the  Patagonians  nor  the 
Araucanians  had  any  ideas  of  prayer,  or  "  any  vestige  of 
religious  worship."  ^ 

The  Fuegians 

The  inhabitants  of   Tierra  del  Fuego  are  even  more 

degraded  than  those  of  the  mainland  :  in  fact,  they  have 

been  regarded  by  many  travellers  as  being  the  lowest  of 

mankind.*     Adolph  Decker,  who  visited  Polynesia  and 

Australasia  under  Jaques  le  Hermite  in   1624,  describes 

them  as  "  rather  beasts  than  men  ;    for  they  tear  human 

bodies  to  pieces,  and  eat  the  flesh  raw  and  bloody  as  it  is. 

There  is  not  the  least  spark  of  religion  or  policy  to  be 

observed  among  them  :  on  the  contrary,  they  are  in  every 

respect  brutal " — of  which  he  proceeds  to  give  evidence 

so  convincing,  that  I   refrain    from    quoting    it.^     "  The 

men  go  altogether  naked,  and  the  women  have  only  a  bit 

of  skin  about  their  middles.   .   .   .     Their  huts  are  made 

of  trees,  in  the  shape  of  tents,  with  a  hole  at  the  top  to 

let  out  the  smoke.     Within  they  are  sunk  two  or  three 

feet  under  the  earth  ;  and  the  mould  is  thrown  upon  the 

outside.     Their  fishing-tackle  is  very  curious,  and  their 

stone  hooks  very  nearly  the  same  shape  as  ours.     They 

'  Falkner's  Patagonia,  pp.  ii8,  iig.  -  Fitzroy,  vol.  ii.  p.  158. 

-*  The  Voice  of  Pity,  vol.  ii.  pp.  37,  95. 

^  Byron's  Voyage  Round  the  IVurld,  p.  80  ;  Wallis's  Voyage  Round  the 
World,  p.  392  ;  Cook's  Voyage  to  the  South  Pole,  vol.  ii.  p.  187  ;  Darwin's 
Jour>ial,  p.  235. 

•■  Callander's  Voyages,  vol.  ii.  p.  307. 


S32  PREHISTORIC  TIMES 

are  differently  armed,  some  having  bows,  and  arrows 
headed  with  stone  ;  others  have  long  javelins,  pointed 
with  bone  ;  some,  again,  have  great  wooden  clubs  ;  and 
some  have  slings,  with  stone-knives,  which  are  very 
sharp."  Their  arrows  are  of  hard  wood,  straight  and  well 
polished.  They  are  about  two  feet  long,  and  are  tipped 
with  a  piece  of  agate,  obsidian,  or  glass.  The  bows  are 
from  three  to  four  feet  long,  and  quite  plain.  The 
string  is  made  of  twisted  sinews. 

Forster  ^  found  them  "  remarkably  stupid,  being  in- 
capable of  understanding  any  of  our  signs,  which,  however, 
were  very  intelligible  to  the  nations  of  the  South  Sea." 
Wallis,  in  his  Voyage  Round  the  World^  describes  them  as 
follows  :  "  Thev  were  covered  with  seal-skins,  which 
stunk  abominably,  and  some  of  them  were  eating  the 
rotten  flesh  and  blubber  raw,  with  a  keen  appetite  and 
great  seeming  satisfaction."  And  again  he  says  :  "  Some 
of  our  people,  who  were  fishing  with  a  hook  and  line, 
gave  one  of  them  a  fish,  somewhat  bigger  than  a  herring, 
alive,  just  as  it  came  out  of  the  water.  The  Indian  took 
it  hastily,  as  a  dog  would  take  a  bone,  and  instantly 
killed  it,  by  giving  it  a  bite  near  the  gills  ;  he  then  pro- 
ceeded to  eat  it,  beginning  with  the  head,  and  going  on 
to  the  tail,  without  rejecting  either  the  bones,  fins,  scales, 
or  entrails."  ^  Their  cookery  is,  if  possible,  still  more 
disgusting,  Fitzroy  tells  us  that  it  was  "  too  offensive  " 
for  description  ;  and  the  account  given  by  Byron  ^  entirely 
confirms  this  statement. 

The  men,  says  Fitzroy,^  "  are  low  in  stature,  ill- 
looking,  and  badly  proportioned.  Their  colour  is  that  of 
very  old  mahogany — or  rather  between  dark  copper  and 
bronze.  The  trunk  of  the  body  is  large,  in  proportion 
to  their  cramped  or  rather  crooked  limbs.  Their  rough, 
coarse,  and  extremely  dirty  black  hair  half  hides,  yet 
heightens,  a  villainous  expression  of  the  worst  description 

1  L.c,  p.  251. 

'^  Hawkesworth's  Voyages^  I.e.,  p.  403.  ''  L.c,  p.  403. 

*  Byron's  Loss  of  the  "  PVager,''  p.  132. 

°   Voyages  of  the  '■^  Adven/ure"  and  '■'  Beagle,"  vol.  ii.  p.  137. 


THE   FUEGIANS  533 

of  savage  features.  The  hair  of  the  women  is  longer, 
less  coarse,  and  certainly  cleaner  than  that  of  the  men. 
It  is  combed  with  the  jaw  of  a  porpoise,  but  neither 
plaited  nor  tied  ;  and  none  is  cut  away,  excepting  from 
over  their  eyes.  They  are  short,  with  bodies  largely  out 
of  proportion  to  their  height  ;  their  features,  especially 
those  of  the  old,  are  scarcely  less  disagreeable  than  the 
repulsive  ones  of  the  men.  About  four  feet  and  some 
inches  is  the  stature  of  these  she-Fuegians — by  courtesy 
called  women.  They  never  walk  upright  ;  a  stooping 
posture  and  awkward  movement  is  their  natural  gait. 
They  may  be  fit  mates  for  such  uncouth  men,  but  to 
civilized  people  their  appearance  is  disgusting.  .  .  . 
The  smoke  of  wood  fires  confined  in  small  wigwams 
hurts  their  eyes  so  much  that  they  are  red  and  watery  : 
the  effects  of  their  oiling  or  greasing  themselves,  and 
then  rubbing  ochre,  clay,  or  charcoal  over  their  bodies  ; 
of  their  often  feeding  upon  the  most  offensive  substances, 
sometimes  in  a  state  of  putridity  ;  and  of  other  vile 
habits,  may  readily  be  imagined."^  Their  incisors  are 
worn  flat,^  like  those  of  the  Esquimaux  and  of  many 
ancient  races. 

"  The  men  procure  food  of  the  larger  kind,  such  as 
seal,  otter,  porpoise,  etc. ;  they  break  or  cut  wood  and 
bark  for  fuel,  as  well  as  for  building  the  wigwams  or 
canoes.  They  go  out  at  night  to  get  birds  ;  they  train 
the  dogs,  and  of  course  undertake  all  hunting  or  warlike 
excursions.  The  women  nurse  their  children,  attend  the 
fire  (feeding  it  with  dead  wood  rather  than  green,  on 
account  of  the  smoke),  make  baskets  and  water-buckets, 
fishing-lines  and  necklaces,  go  out  to  catch  small  fish  in 
their  canoes,  gather  shell-fish,  dive  for  sea-eggs,  take  care 
of  their  canoes,  upon  ordinary  occasions  paddle  their 
masters  about  while  they  sit  idle,  and  do  any  other 
drudgery."  ^ 

"When  there  is  time,  the  natives  roast  their  shell-fish, 
and  half-roast  any  other  food  that  is  of  a  solid  nature  ; 
but  when  in  haste,  they  eat  fish,  as  well  as  meat,  in  a  raw 

1  L.c,  p.  139.         '^  Fitzroy,  Appendix,  p.  144.         ^  Ibid.,  /.<:.,  p.  185. 


534  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

state.  .  .  .  Both  seals  and  porpoises  are  speared  by  them 
from  their  canoes.  When  struck,  the  fish  usually  run 
into  the  kelp,  with  the  spear  floating  on  the  water,  being 
attached  by  a  short  line  to  a  movable  barb  :  and  then 
the  men  follow  with  their  canoe,  seize  the  spear,  and  tow 
by  it  till  the  fish  is  dead.  To  them  the  taking  of  a  seal 
or  a  porpoise  is  a  matter  of  as  much  consequence  as  the 
capture  of  a  whale  is  to  our  countrymen.  On  moonlight 
nights  birds  are  caught  when  roosting,  not  only  by  the 
men,  but  by  their  dogs,  which  are  sent  out  to  seize  them 
while  asleep  upon  the  rocks  or  beach  ;  and  so  well  are 
these  dogs  trained,  that  they  bring  all  they  catch  safely  to 
their  masters,  without  making  any  noise,  and  then  return 
for  another  mouthful.  Birds  are  also  frequently  killed 
with  arrows  or  by  stones  slung  at  them  with  unerring 
aim.  Eggs  are  largely  sought  for  by  the  natives  ;  indeed, 
I  may  say  that  they  eat  anything  and  everything  that  is 
eatable,  without  being  particular  as  to  its  state  of  fresh- 
ness, or  as  to  its  having  been  near  the  fire."^ 

According  to  Byron,  the  dogs  of  the  Chonos  Indians 
assist  in  killing  fish  as  well  as  birds.  They  are,  he  says, 
"cur-like  looking  animals,  but  very  sagacious,  and  easily 
trained  to  this  business.  .  .  .  The  net  is  held  by  two 
Indians,  who  get  into  the  water  ;  then  the  dogs,  taking 
a  large  compass,  dive  after  the  fish,  and  drive  them  into 
the  net  ;  but  it  is  only  in  particular  places  that  the  fish 
are  taken  in  this  manner."  He  adds,  that  the  dogs 
"enjoy  it  much,  and  express  their  eagerness  by  barking 
every  time  they  raise  their  heads  above  the  water  to 
breathe."  ^ 

"  In  the  winter,  when  the  snow  lies  deep,  the  Tekeenica 
hunt  the  guanaco,  which  then  comes  down  from  the 
high  lands  to  seek  for  pasture  near  the  sea.  The  long 
legs  of  the  animal  stick  deeply  into  the  snow  and  soft 
boggy  ground,  disabling  him  from  escape,  while  the 
Fuegians  and  their  dogs  hem  him  in  on  every  side,  and 

1  Fitzroy,  I.e.,  p.  184. 

2  Byron's  Loss  of  the  "  IVa^er,"  in  Kerr's    Voja£;^es  and  Travels,  vol, 
xvii.  pp.  339,  368,  463. 


THE   FUEGIANS 


535 


quickly  make  him  their  prey.  ...  At  other  times  of  the 
year  they  sometimes  get  them  by  lying  in 
wait,  and  shooting  them  with  arrows,  or  by 
getting  into  a  tree  near  their  track,  and  spear- 
ing them  as  they  pass  beneath  the  branches. 
Fig.  281  represents  the  head  of  a  Fuegian 
harpoon,  which  closely  resembles  the  ancient 
Danish  specimen  figured  in  fig.  141. 

Of  vegetable  food  they  have  very  little  :  a 
few  berries,  cranberries,  those  which  grow  on 
the  arbutus,  and  a  kind  of  fungus  which  is 
found  on  the  beech,  being  the  only  sorts  used. 
The  unfortunate  Fuegians  often  suffer  greatly 
from  famine.  Their  principal  food  consists 
of  limpets,  mussels,  and  other  shell-fish. 

Admiral  Fitzroy  entertained  no  doubt  that 
the  Fuegians  are  cannibals.  "  Almost  ^  always 
at  war  with  adjoining  tribes,  they  seldom 
meet  but  a  hostile  encounter  is  the  result  ; 
and  then  those  who  are  vanquished  and  taken, 
if  not  already  dead,  are  killed  and  eaten  by  the 
conquerors.  Again,  in  severe  winters,  when 
they  can  obtain  no  other  food,  they  take  "  the 
oldest  woman  of  their  party,  hold  her  head 
over  a  thick  smoke,  made  by  burning  green 
wood,  and,  pinching  her  throat,  choke  her. 
They  then  devour  every  particle  of  the  flesh. 
When  asked  why  they  did  not  rather  kill 
their  dogs,  they  said,  "Dog  catch  iappo,"  i.e. 
otters. 

Like  Decker,  Admiral  Fitzroy  "  never 
witnessed  or  heard  of  any  act  of  a  decidedly 
religious  nature."  ^  Still,  it  is  said  that  some 
of  the  natives  suppose  that  there  is  a  power- 
ful and  mysterious  being  who  resides  in  the 
woods.     When  a  person  dies,  they  carry  the 


Fig.  281.  — 
Fuegian  har- 
poon, one- 
half  of  the 
actual  size. 


1  L.C.,  p.  183. 

2  See  also  Weddell,  Voyage  to  South  Pole,  p.  179  ;   The   Voice  of  I'ity, 
vol.  vi.  p.  92,  etc. 


536  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

body  far  into  the  woods,^  "  place  it  upon  some  broken 
boughs,  or  pieces  of  solid  wood,  and  then  pile  a  great 
quantity  of  branches  over  the  corpse." 

Their  canoes  are  large  pieces  of  bark  sewn  together. 
In  the  bottom  they  make  a  fireplace  of  clay,  for  they 
always  keep  fires  alight,  though  with  the  help  of  iron 
pyrites  they  soon  obtain  sparks  if  any  accident  happens. 
The  Chonos  Indians,  who  in  most  respects  resemble  the 
Fuegians,  have  much  better  canoes.  These  are  formed 
of  planks,  which  are  generally  five  in  number,  two  on 
each  side  and  one  at  the  bottom.  Along  the  edges  of 
each  are  small  holes  about  an  inch  apart.  The  planks 
are  sewn  together  with  woodbine,  the  holes  being  filled 
with  a  kind  of  bark  beaten  up  until  it  resembles  oakum. 
Byron  truly  observes  that  in  the  absence  of  metal,  "  the 
labour  must  be  great  of  hacking  a  single  plank  out  of  a 
large  tree  with  shells  and  flints,  even  though  with  the 
help  of  fire." 

The  Fuegians  have  no  pottery,  but,  like  the  North 
American  Indians,  use  vessels  made  of  birch,  or  rather  of 
beech-bark.  On  the  east  coast  many  of  the  natives 
possess  guanaco-skins,  and  on  the  west  some  of  them 
wear  seal-skins.  "  Amongst  the  central  tribes  the  men 
generally  possess  an  otter-skin,  or  some  small  scrap  about 
as  large  as  a  pocket-handkerchief,  which  is  barely  sufficient 
to  cover  their  backs  as  low  down  as  their  loins.  It  is 
laced  across  the  breast  by  strings,  and  according  as  the 
wind  blows,  it  is  shifted  from  side  to  side."  ^  Many, 
however,  even  of  the  women,  go  absolutely  without 
clothes.  Yet,  as  Captain  Cook  quaintly  expresses  it, 
"  although  they  are  content  to  be  naked,  they  are  very 
ambitious  to  be  fine,"  for  which  purpose  they  adorn 
themselves  with  streaks  of  red,  black,  and  white  ;  and 
the  men  as  well  as  the  women  wear  bracelets  and  anklets 
of  shell  and  bone.  Sir  J.  D.  Hooker  informs  us  that  at 
the  extreme  south  of  Tierra  del  Fuego,  and  in  mid-winter, 
he  has  often  seen  the  men  lying  asleep  in  their  wigwams, 

^  L.C.,  p.  i8i. 

^  Darwin's  Researches  in  Geology  and  Natural  History^  p.  234. 


THE   FUEGIANS  537 

without  a  scrap  of  clothing,  and  the  women  standing 
naked,  and  some  with  children  at  their  breasts,  in  the 
water  up  to  their  middles,  gathering  limpets  and  other 
shell-fish,  while  the  snow  fell  thickly  on  them  and  on 
their  equally  naked  babies.  It  is  remarkable  that  the 
Fuegians,  like  the  Esquimaux,  make  so  little  use  of  fire  ; 
they  do  not  employ  it  to  warm  the  air  of  their  huts  as  we 
do,  though  sometimes  as  a  luxury  they  take  advantage  of 
it  to  toast  their  hands  or  feet.  Doubtless,  however,  if 
deprived  of  this  source  of  warmth,  they  would  die  of 
starvation  rather  oftener  than  is  now  the  case. 

If  not  the  lowest,  the  Fuegians  certainly  appear  to  be 
among  the  most  miserable  specimens  of  the  human  race. 
The  conditions  of  their  existence  are  very  unfavourable, 
and  their  habits  are  of  special  interest  from  their  similarity 
to  those  of  the  ancient  Danish  shell-mound  builders,  who, 
however,  were  in  some  respects  rather  more  advanced, 
being  acquainted  with  the  art  of  making  pottery. 


CHAPTER    XV 

MODERN     SAVAGES COHcluded 

In  reading  almost  any  account  of  savages,  it  is  impossible 
not  to  admire  the  skill  with  which  they  use  their  weapons 
and  implements,  their  ingenuity  in  hunting  and  fishing, 
and  their  close  and  accurate  powers  of  observation. 
Some  savages  even  recognize  individuals  by  their  foot- 
steps. Thus  Mr  Laing  mentions  ^  that  one  day  while 
travelling  near  Moreton  Bay,  in  Australia,  he  pointed  to 
a  footstep,  and  asked  whose  it  was.  The  guide  "  glanced 
at  it,  without  stopping  his  horse,  and  at  once  answered, 
'  White  fellow  call  him  Tiger.'  "  This  turned  out  to  be 
correct,  which  was  the  more  remarkable  as  the  two  men 
belonged  to  different  tribes,  and  had  not  met  for  two 
years.  Among  the  Arabs,  Burckhardt  asserts  ^  that  some 
men  know  every  individual  in  the  tribe  by  his  footstep. 
"  Besides  this,  every  Arab  knows  the  printed  footsteps  of 
his  own  camels,  and  of  those  belonging  to  his  immediate 
neighbours.  He  knows  by  the  depth  or  slightness  of  the 
impression  whether  a  camel  was  pasturing,  and  therefore 
not  carrying  any  load,  or  mounted  by  one  person  only, 
or  heavily  loaded." 

Skyring  ^  saw  a  Fuegian  who  "  threw  stones  from  each 
hand  with  astonishing  force  and  precision.  His  first 
stone  struck  the  master  with  much  force,  broke  a  powder- 
horn  which  hung  round  his  neck,  and  nearly  knocked 
him  backwards."  In  his  description  of  the  Hottentots, 
Kolben  says*  that  their  dexterity  in  throwing  the  "  hassa- 

1  Aborigines  of  Atistfalia,  p.  24.  ^  Fitzroy,  I.e.,  vol.  i.  p.  398. 

3  Bedouins  and  IVahabys,  p.  374.  *  Kolben,  I.e.,  vol.  i.  p.  243. 

538 


DEXTERITY   OF   SAVAGES  539 

gaye  and  rackum-stick  strikes  every  witness  of  it  with 
the  highest  admiration.  ...  If  a  Hottentot,  in  the  chase 
of  a  hare,  deer,  or  wild  goat,  comes  but  within  thirty  or 
forty  yards  of  the  creature,  away  flies  the  rackum-stick 
and  down  falls  the  creature,  generally  pierced  quite 
through  the  body."  The  death  of  Goliath  is  a  well- 
known  instance  of  skill  in  the  use  of  the  sling  ;  and 
we  are  told  also  that  in  the  tribe  of  Benjamin  there  was 
a  corps  of  "  seven  hundred  chosen  men  left-handed  ; 
every  one  could  sling  stones  at  an  hair-breadth,  and  not 
miss.    '■ 

Having  few  weapons,  and  those  in  constant  use, 
savages  acquire  a  skill  which  seems  almost  marvellous. 
1  have  seen  the  boomerang  thrown  with  a  force  and  skill 
which  I  should  have  thought  quite  impossible.  The 
North  American  Indian  will  send  an  arrow  right  through 
a  horse  or  even  a  buffalo.  The  African  savage  will  kill 
the  elephant,  and  the  Chinook  fears  not  to  attack  even 
the  whale.  Sir  G.  Grey  tells  us  that  he  has  often  seen 
the  Australians  kill  a  pigeon  with  a  spear  at  a  distance  of 
thirty  paces.^  Speaking  of  the  Chamisso  Island  Esqui- 
maux, Beechey  says  that  one  day  a  Diver  was  swimming 
at  a  distance  of  thirty  yards  from  the  beach,  and  a  native  was 
offered  a  reward  if  he  could  shoot  it.  He  immediately 
frightened  it  so  that  it  dived,  and  directly  it  reappeared, 
he  transfixed  both  eyes  with  an  arrow.^  Speaking  of  the 
Australians,  Mr  Stanbridge  asserts  that  "  it  is  a  favourite 
feat  on  the  Murray  to  dive  into  the  river,  spear  in  hand, 
and  come  up  with  a  fish  upon  it."  *  Woodes  Rogers  says 
that  the  Californian  Indians  used  to  dive,  and  strike 
the  fish  under  water  with  wooden  spears,^  and  Falkner^ 
tells  us  that  some  of  the  Patagonian  tribes  live  chiefly  on 
fish,  "  which  they  catch  eil/ier  by  divings  or  striking  them 
with    their    darts."     Tertre    again  says  the  same  of  the 

*  Judges  XX.  16.  -  Grey,  I.e.,  vol.  ii.  p.  285. 
^  Beechey's  Narrative,  vol.  ii.  p.  574. 

■•  "  On  the  Aborigines  of  Victoria,"  E//tn.  Trans.,  New  Series,  vol.  i. 
p.  293. 

*  Callander's  Voyages,  vol.  iii.  p.  331. 
•^  Faiagonia,  \>.  1 1 1 . 


540  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

Caribs/  and  Wallace  of  the  Brazilian  Indians.^  The 
South  Sea  Islanders  are  particularly  active  in  the  water. 
They  dive  after  fish,  which  "  takes  refuge  under  the 
coral  rock  ;  thither  the  diver  pursues  him,  and  brings  him 
up  with  a  finger  in  each  eye."  ^  They  are  even  more 
than  a  match  for  the  shark,  which  they  attack  fearlessly 
with  a  knife.  If  they  are  unarmed,  "  they  all  surround 
him  and  force  him  ashore,  if  they  can  but  once  get  him 
into  the  surf  ;  but  even  if  he  escapes  they  continue  their 
bathing  without  the  least  fear.*  Ellis  more  cautiously 
says  only,  that  "  when  armed  they  have  sometimes  been 
known  to  attack  a  shark  in  the  water."  ^ 

The  Andaman  Islanders  also  are  said  to  dive  and  catch 
fish  under  water  ;  ^  and  Rutherford  makes  a  similar  state- 
ment as  regards  the  New  Zealanders.  DobritzhofFer  tells 
us  that  the  Payajuas  and  Vilelas  live  principally  on  fish, 
using  a  small  net  with  which  they  dive,  "  and  if  they 
spy  any  fish  at  the  bottom,  swim  after  it,  catch  it  in  the 
net,"  and  so  bring  it  to  shore.''  The  Esquimaux  in  his 
kayak  can  actually  turn  somersaults  in  the  water. 

The  Brazilian  Indians  kill  turtles  with  bows  and  arrows  ; 
but  if  they  aimed  direct  at  the  animal,  the  arrow  would 
glance  off  the  smooth,  hard  shell  ;  therefore  they  shoot 
up  into  the  air,  so  that  the  arrow  falls  nearly  vertically  on 
the  shell,  which  it  is  thus  enabled  to  penetrate.^  What 
an  amount  of  practice  must  be  required  to  obtain  such 
skill  as  this  !  How  true  also  must  the  weapons  be  ! 
Indeed,  it  is  very  evident  that  each  distinct  type  of  flint 
implement  must  have  been  designed  for  some  distinct 
purpose.  Thus  the  different  forms  of  arrow-head,  of 
harpoon,  or  of  stone  axe,  cannot  have  been  intended  to  be 
used  in  the  same  manner.  Among  the  North  American 
Indians  the  arrows  used  in  hunting  were  so  made  that 
when  the  shaft  was  drawn  out  of  the  wound  the  head 
came  out  also  ;  while  in  the  war-arrows  the  shaft  tapered 

1  History  of  the  Carriby  Islands,  p.  305. 

2  Travels  on  the  Amazon^  p.  488.  ^  Wilson,  I.e.,  p.  385. 

*  L.c,  p.  368.  ^  Polynesian  Researches,  vol.  i.  p.  178. 

"  Mouatt,  I.e.,  pp.  310,  T,^T,.        '  Htstofy  0/ the  Abipones,  vol.  i.  p.  343. 
Wallace's  Amazon,  p.  466. 


USE   OF   STONE   WEAPONS  541 

to  the  end,  so  that  even  when  it  was  withdrawn  the  head 
of  the  arrow  remained  in  the  wound.  Again,  the  different 
forms  of  harpoons  are  illustrated  by  the  barbed  and 
unbarbed  lances  of  the  Esquimaux  {ante^  figs.  272,  273). 
Unfortunately,  however,  we  have  but  few  details  of  this 
kind  ;  travellers  have  generally  thought  it  unnecessary  to 
observe  or  record  these  apparently  unimportant  details  ; 
and  that  our  knowledge  of  flint  implements  is  most 
rudimentary,  is  well  shown  by  the  discussion  between 
Professors  Steenstrup  and  Worsaae,  whether  the  so-called 
"  axes  "  of  the  shell-mounds  were  really  axes,  or  whether 
they  were  not  rather  used  in  fishing. 

We  may  hope,  however,  that  in  future  those  who  have 
the  opportunity  of  observing  stone  implements  among 
modern  savages  will  give  us  more  detailed  information 
both  as  to  the  exact  manner  in  which  they  are  used,  and 
also  about  the  way  in  which  they  are  made  ;  that  they 
will  collect  not  only  the  well-made  weapons,  but,  also, 
and  even  more  carefully,  the  ruder  implements  of  every- 
day life. 

Some  archaeologists  have  argued  that  the  shell-mound 
builders  of  Denmark  must  have  possessed  more  formid- 
able weapons  than  any  that  have  yet  been  found,  because 
it  was  considered  impossible  that  they  could  have  killed 
large  game,  as,  for  instance,  the  bull  and  seal,  with  the 
simple  weapons  of  bone  and  stone  which  alone  have 
hitherto  been  discovered.  Professor  Worsaae  ^  even  went 
so  far  as  to  say  :  "  Against  birds  and  other  small  creatures 
these  stone  arrows  might  prove  effectual,  but  against 
larger  animals,  such  as  the  aurochs,  the  elk,  the  reindeer, 
the  stag,  and  the  wild  boar,  they  were  evidently  in- 
sufficient ;  particularly  since  these  animals  often  become 
furious  as  soon  as  they  are  struck."  I  can,  however,  by 
no  means  agree  with  Professor  Worsaae  in  this  supposi- 
tion ;  we  know,  on  the  contrary,  that  modern  savages 
are  able  to  kill  even  the  largest  game  with  arrows 
and  spears  tipped  with  stone.  Knives,  again,  of  stone, 
are   much    more  effective  than  might  at  first  be  expected, 

1  Page  18. 


542  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

and  many  savage  tribes  readily  cut  flesh  with  pieces  of 
shell  or  of  hard  wood. 

The  neatness  with  which  the  Hottentots,  Esquimaux, 
North  American  Indians,  etc.,  are  able  to  sew,  is  very 
remarkable,  although  awls  and  sinews  would  in  our  hands 
be  but  poor  substitutes  for  needles  and  thread.  As 
already  mentioned  in  p.  325,  some  cautious  archaeologists 
hesitated  to  refer  the  reindeer  caves  of  the  Dordogne  to 
the  Stone  Age,  on  account  of  the  bone  needles  and  the 
works  of  art  which  are  found  in  them.  The  eyes  of  the 
needles  especially,  they  thought,  could  only  be  made  with 
metallic  implements.  Professor  Lartet  ingeniously 
removed  these  doubts  by  making  a  similar  needle  for 
himself  with  the  help  of  a  flint  ;  but  he  might  have 
referred  to  the  fact  stated  by  Cook  ^  in  his  first 
voyage,  that  the  New  Zealanders  succeeded  in  drilling 
a  hole  through  a  piece  of  glass  which  he  had  given 
them,  using  for  this  purpose,  as  he  supposed,  a  piece  of 
jasper. 

The  Brazilians  also  use  ornaments  of  imperfectly 
crystallized  quartz,  from  four  to  eight  inches  long  and 
about  an  inch  in  diameter.  Hard  as  it  is,  they  contrive 
to  drill  a  hole  at  each  end,  using  for  that  purpose  the 
pointed  leaf-shoot  of  the  large  wild  plantain,  with  sand 
and  water.  The  hole  is  generally  transverse,  but  the 
ornaments  of  the  chiefs  are  actually  pierced  lengthways. 
This,  Mr  Wallace  thinks,  must  be  a  work  of  years.^ 

The  works  of  art  found  in  the  Dordogne  caves  are 
little  ruder  than  those  of  the  Esquimaux  or  the  North 
American  Indians.  In  fact,  the  appreciation  of  art  is  to 
be  regarded  rather  as  an  ethnological  characteristic  than 
as  an  indication  of  any  particular  stage  in  civilization. 
We  see,  again,  that  in  many  cases  a  certain  knowledge  of 
agriculture  has  preceded  the  use  of  metals  ;  and  the 
fortifications  of  New  Zealand,  as  well  as  the  large  morais 
of  the  South  Sea  Islands,  are  arguments  in  favour  of  the 
theory  which  ascribes  some  of  our  camps,  our  great 
tumuli,  and  other  Druidical  remains,  to  the  later  part  of 

^  Vol.  iii.  p.  464.  '^  Travels  on  tlie  Amazon,  p.  278. 


STAGE   OF   EARLY   CIVILIZATION        543 

the  Stone  Age.  The  great  moral  of  Oberea,  in  Tahiti, 
has  been  already  described  (p.  482).  Again,  the  cele- 
brated statues  of  Easter  Island  are  really  colossal.  One 
of  them,  which  has  fallen  down,  measures  twenty-seven 
feet  long,  and  others  appear  to  be  even  larger.  The 
houses  of  the  Ladrone  Islanders,  also,  are  remarkable. 
The  larger  ones  were  supported  on  strong  pyramids  of 
stone.  They  were  found  in  large  numbers  ;  in  one  case 
they  formed  a  stone  row  four  hundred  yards  long. 
They  were  first  described  by  Anson,  who  saw  many 
which  were  thirteen  feet  in  height  ;  while  one  of  those 
seen  by  Freycinet  measured  as  much  as  twenty  feet. 
They  were  square  at  the  base,  and  rested  on  the  ground. 
On  each  pillar  was  a  hemisphere,  with  the  flat  side 
upwards.  The  South  Sea  Islanders  afford,  indeed, 
wonderful  instances  of  what  can  be  accomplished  with 
stone  implements.  Their  houses  are  large  and  often  well 
built,  and  their  canoes  have  excited  the  wonder  of  all  who 
have  seen  them. 

Although,  then,  the  use  of  stone  as  the  principal 
material  of  implements  and  weapons  may  be  regarded 
as  characterizing  an  early  stage  in  the  development  of 
civilization,  still  it  is  evident  that  this  stage  is  itself 
susceptible  of  much  subdivision.  The  Mincopie,  or  the 
Australian,  for  instance,  is  not  to  be  compared  for  an 
instant  with  the  semi-civilized  native  of  the  Society 
Islands.  So  also  in  the  ancient  Stone  Age  of  Europe  we 
find  evidences  of  great  difference.  The  savage  inhabitants 
of  the  South  French  caves  had,  according  to  MM. 
Christy  and  Lartet,  no  domestic  animals,  and  no  know- 
ledge of  pottery  or  agriculture.  The  shell-mound 
builders  of  Denmark  had  the  dog  ;  the  Swiss  lake- 
dwellers  also  possessed  this  animal,  together  with  the  ox, 
sheep,  and  pig,  perhaps  even  the  horse  ;  they  had  a 
certain  knowledge  of  agriculture,  and  were  acquainted 
with  the  art  of  weaving.  Thus,  then,  even  when  we 
have  satisfied  ourselves  that  any  given  remains  belong  to 
the  Stone  Age,  we  are  still  but  on  the  threshold  of  our 
inquiry. 


544  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

Travellers  and  naturalists  have  differed  a  good  deal 
in  opinion  as  to  the  race  of  savages  which  is  entitled 
to  the  unenviable  reputation  of  being  the  lowest  in 
the  scale  of  civilization.  Cook,  Darwin,  Fitzroy,  and 
Wallis  were  decidedly  in  favour,  if  I  may  so  say, 
of  the  Fuegian  ;  Burchell  maintained  that  the  Bush- 
men are  the  lowest  ;  D'Urville  voted  for  the  Australians 
and  Tasmanians  ;  Dampier  thought  the  Australians 
"  the  miserablest  people  in  the  world "  ;  Forster  said 
that  the  people  of  Mallicollo  "  bordered  the  nearest 
upon  the  tribe  of  monkeys "  ;  Owen  inclined  to  the 
Andamaners  ;  others  have  supported  the  North 
American  root  -  diggers  ;  and  one  French  writer 
even  insinuates  that  monkeys  are  more  human  than 
Laplanders. 

The  civilization,  moreover,  of  the  Stone  Age  differs, 
not  only  in  degree,  but  also  in  kind,  varying  according  to 
the  climate,  vegetation,  food,  etc.,  from  which  it  becomes 
evident — at  least  to  all  those  who  believe  in  the  unity  of 
the  human  race — that  the  present  habits  of  savage  races, 
while  throwing,  no  doubt,  much  light  on  those  of  our 
earliest  ancestors,  are  not  to  be  regarded  as  representing 
them  exactly,  because  they  have  been  to  some  extent 
modified  by  external  conditions,  influenced  by  national 
character,  which,  however,  is  after  all  but  the  result  of 
the  external  conditions  which  have  acted  on  previous 
generations. 

If  we  take  a  few  of  the  things  which  are  most  generally 
useful  in  savage  life,  and  at  the  same  time  most  easily 
obtainable,  such,  for  instance,  as  slings,  spear-casters, 
pottery,  bows  and  arrows,  boomerangs,  Solas,  nets, 
domestic  animals,  or  a  knowledge  of  agriculture,  we 
might,  perhaps,  have  expected  a  priori  that  the  acquisition 
of  them  would  have  followed  some  regular  succession. 
That  this,  however,  was  not  the  case  is  shown  by  the 
annexed  table,  which  will,  I  think,  be  found  interesting. 
It  gives  some  idea  of  the  progress  made  by  various 
savage  tribes  at  the  time  when  they  were  first  visited  by 
Europeans. 


COMPARATIVE   STATISTICS 


545 


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546  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

Some,  no  doubt,  of  the  differences  exhibited  in  this 
table  may  be  easily  accounted  for.  The  frozen  soil  and 
arctic  climate  of  the  Esquimaux  would  not  encourage, 
would  not  even  permit,  any  agriculture.  So,  again,  the 
absence  of  hogs  in  New  Zealand,  of  dogs  in  the  Friendly 
Isles,  and  of  all  mammalia  in  Easter  Island,  is  probably 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  original  colonists  did  not  possess 
these  animals,  and  that  their  isolated  position  prevented 
them  afterwards  from  obtaining  any.  Moreover,  we 
must  remember  that  as  a  general  rule  the  lowest  savage 
can  only  use  one  or  two  weapons.  He  is  limited  to 
those  which  he  can  carry  about  with  him,  and  naturally 
prefers  those  which  are  of  most  general  utility.^  We 
cannot,  however,  in  this  manner  account  for  all  the  facts. 
In  Columbia,  Australia,  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and 
elsewhere,  agriculture  was  unknown  before  the  advent  of 
Europeans.  Easter  Island,  on  the  contrary,  contained 
large  plantations  of  sweet  potatoes,  yams,  plantains, 
sugar-canes,  etc.  Yet  the  Chinooks  of  Columbia  had 
bows  and  arrows,  fish-hooks,  and  nets  ;  the  Australians 
had  throwing-sticks,  boomerangs,  fish-hooks,  and  nets  ; 
the  Hottentots  had  bows  and  arrows,  nets,  fish-hooks, 
pottery,  and  at  last  even  a  certain  knowledge  of  iron  ;  all 
of  which  seem  to  have  been  unknown  to  the  Easter 
Islanders,  though  they  would  have  been  very  useful,  and, 
excepting  the  iron,  might  have  been  invented  and  used 
by  them. 

If  the  case  of  Easter  Island  stood  alone,  the  absence  of 
bows  and  arrows  might,  perhaps,  be  plausibly  accounted 
for  by  the  absence  of  game,  the  scarcity  of  birds,  and  the 
isolation  of  the  little  island,  which  rendered  war  almost 
impossible.  But  such  an  argument  cannot  be  applied  to 
other  cases  which  are  indicated  in  the  table.  Let  us 
compare,  for  instance,  the  Atlantic  tribes  of  North 
American  Indians,  the  Australians,  Bushmen,  KafHrs, 
New  Zealanders,  and  Society  Islanders.  All  these  were 
constantly  at  war,  and  the  three  first  lived  very  much  on 

1  Weapons  of  war  depending  very  much  on  the  caprice  of  chiefs,  are 
probably  more  liable  to  change  than  those  used  in  hunting. 


VARIOUS   SAVAGES   COMPARED        547 

the  produce  of  the  chase.  They  at  least  had  therefore 
similar  wants.  Yet  spears,  and  perhaps  clubs,  were  the 
only  weapons  which  they  had  in  common  ;  the  North 
Americans  had  good  bows  and  arrows,  the  Society 
Islanders  and  Bushmen  had  bad  ones — in  fact,  those  of 
the  former  were  so  weak  as  to  be  useless  in  war  ;  the 
Australians,  Kaffirs,  and  New  Zealanders  had  none.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  Australians  had  the  throwing-stick 
and  the  boomerang  ;  the  Society  Islanders  used  slings  ; 
and  the  New  Zealanders,  besides  very  effective  clubs,  had 
numerous  and  extensive  fortifications.  It  is  certainly 
most  remarkable  that  tribes  so  warlike,  and  in  many 
respects  so  advanced,  as  the  New  Zealanders  and  Kaffirs, 
should  have  been  ignorant  of  bows  and  arrows,  which 
were  used  by  many  very  low  races,  such  as  the  Fuegians, 
the  Chinooks,  the  Andamaners,  and  Bushmen  ;  particularly 
as  it  is  impossible  to  doubt  that  the  New  Zealanders  at 
least  would  have  found  bows  of  great  use,  and  that  any 
of  their  tribes,  having  invented  them,  would  have  had  an 
immense  advantage  in  the  "  struggle  for  existence." 
Other  similar  contrasts  will  strike  anyone  who  examines 
the  table  ;  but  perhaps  it  may  be  said  that  some  of  these 
cases  may  be  explained  by  the  influence  of  more  civilized 
neighbours  ;  that  the  comparison  above  made,  for 
instance,  might  be  regarded  as  unfair,  because  the  New 
Zealanders  were  an  isolated  race,  while  the  Chinooks 
might  have  derived  their  knowledge  of  bows  and  arrows 
from  the  eastern  tribes,  and  these  again  might  have 
acquired  the  art  of  making  pottery  from  the  semi- 
civilized  nations  of  the  south.  No  one  can  deny  that 
this  may  be  true  in  some  instances,  because  we  know 
that  at  the  present  day  most  savages  possess  hatchets, 
knives,  beads,  etc.,  which  they  have  received  from 
traders,  and  which  they  cannot  yet  manufacture  for 
themselves. 

It  is  certainly  possible  that  the  Chinooks  may  have 
derived  their  knowledge  of  the  bow  from  their  northern 
neighbours  ;  but  we  can  hardly  suppose  that  they  did  so 
from  the  Red   Indian  tribes  to  the  east,  because  in   that 


548  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

case  it  is  difficult  to  understand  why  they  should  not  also 
have  learnt  from  these  the  much  simpler,  and  almost 
equally  useful,  art  of  making  pottery.  Moreover,  there 
are  some  cases  in  which  any  such  idea  is  absolutely  out 
of  the  question  ;  thus,  the  spear-caster  is  used  by  the 
Esquimaux,  the  Australians,  the  New  Caledonians,  and 
some  Brazilian  tribes  ;  the  bolas  by  the  Esquimaux  and 
the  Patagonians  ;  the  boomerang  is  peculiar  to  the 
Australians.-^  The  "  sumpitan,"  or  blow-pipe  of  the 
Malays,  occurs  again  in  the  valley  of  the  Amazon. 
Again,  different  races  of  savages  have  but  little  peaceful 
intercourse  with  one  another.  They  are  almost  always  at 
war.  If  their  habits  are  similar,  they  are  deadly  rivals, 
fighting  for  the  best  hunting-grounds  or  fisheries  ;  if 
their  wants  are  different,  they  fight  for  slaves,  for  women, 
for  ornaments  ;  or  if  they  do  not  care  about  any  of  these, 
for  the  mere  love  of  fighting,  for  scalps,  heads,  or  some 
other  recognized  emblems  of  glory.  In  this  condition  of 
society,  each  tribe  lives  in  a  state  either  of  isolation  from, 
or  enmity  with,  its  neighbours.  Delenda  est  Carthago  is 
the  universal  motto,  and  savages  can  only  live  in  peace 
when  they  have  a  little  world  of  their  own.  Sometimes 
a  broad  sea  or  a  high  range  of  mountains,  at  others  a  wide 
"  march  "  or  neutral  territory,  supplies  the  necessary  con- 
ditions and  keeps  them  apart.  They  meet  only  to  fight, 
and  are  therefore  not  likely  to  learn  much  from  one 
another.  Moreover,  there  are  cases  in  which  some  tribes 
have  weapons  which  are  quite  unknown  to  their  neigh- 
bours. Thus,  among  the  Brazilian  tribes  we  find  the 
bow  and  arrow,  the  blow-pipe,  the  lasso,  and  the  throwing- 
stick.  The  first  is  the  most  general  ;  but  the  Barbados 
use  only  the  blow-pipe,  the  Moxos  have  abandoned  the 
bow  and  arrow  for  the  lasso,  and  the  Purupurus  are  dis- 
tinguished from  all  their  neighbours  by  using,  not  bows 
and  arrows,  but  the  "  palheta,"  or  throwing-stick.  Again, 
the    Kaffirs    have    not    generally  adopted  the  bows    and 

'  The  ancient  Egyptians  had,  and  the  Negroes  of  Niam  Niam  have, 
iron  crescents  resembling  boomerangs,  which  are  thrown  in  war.  But 
these  do  not  appear  to  possess  the  pecuhar  properties  of  the  boomerang. 


INDEPENDENT   INVENTIONS  549 

arrows  of  the  Bushmen  ;  the  Esquimaux  have  not  acquired 
the  art  of  making  pottery  from  the  North  American 
Indians,  nor  the  southern  Columbian  tribes  from  the 
northern   Mexicans. 

Many,  again,  of  the  ruder  arts,  as,  for  instance,  the 
manufacture  of  pottery  and  of  bows,  are  so  useful,  and  at 
the  same  time,  however  ingenious  in  idea,  so  simple  in 
execution,  as  to  render  it  highly  improbable  that  they 
would  ever  be  lost  when  they  had  once  been  acquired. 
Yet  we  have  seen  that  the  New  Zealanders  and  Kaffirs 
had  no  bows,  and  that  none  of  the  Polynesians  had  any 
knowledge  of  pottery  ;  though  it  is  evident  from  their 
skill  in  other  manufactures,  and  their  general  state  of 
civilization,  that  they  would  have  found  no  difficulty  in 
the  matter  if  the  manner  had  once  occurred  to  them. 
Again,  "  bolas  "  are  a  most  effectual  weapon,  and  there 
is  certainly  no  difficulty  in  making  them,  yet  the  know- 
ledge of  them  appears  to  be  confined  to  the  Patagonians 
and  the  Esquimaux.  The  art  of  pottery,  on  the  contrary, 
sometimes  has  been,  I  believe,  communicated  by  one  race 
to  another.  Nevertheless,  there  are  cases,  even  among 
existing  races,^  in  which  we  seem  to  find  indications  of  an 
independent  discovery  ;  at  any  rate,  in  which  the  art  is  in 
a  rudimentary  stage. 

On  the  whole,  then,  from  a  review  of  these  and  other 
similar  facts  which  might  have  been  mentioned,  it  seems 
to  me  most  probable  that  many  of  the  simpler  weapons, 
implements,  etc.,  have  been  invented  independently  by 
various  savage  tribes,  although  there  are  no  doubt  also  cases 
in  which  they  have  been  borrowed  by  one  tribe  from 
another. 

The  contrary  opinion  has  been  adopted  by  many 
writers  on  account  of  the  undeniable  similarity  existing 
between  the  weapons  used  by  savages  in  very  different 
parts  of  the  world.  But  however  paradoxical  it  may 
sound,  though  the  implements  and  weapons  of  savages 
are  remarkably  similar,  they  are  at  the  same  time  curiously 
different.     No  doubt  the  necessaries  of  life  are  simple  and 

'  See,  for  instance,  p.  493. 


550  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

similar  all  over  the  world.  The  materials  also  with  which 
man  has  to  deal  are  very  much  alike  ;  wood,  bone,  and 
to  a  certain  extent  stone,  have  everywhere  the  same 
properties.  The  obsidian  flakes  of  the  Aztecs  resemble 
the  flint  flakes  of  our  ancestors,  not  so  much  because  the 
ancient  Briton  resembled  the  Aztec,  as  because  the  frac- 
ture of  flint  is  like  that  of  obsidian.  So  also  the  pointed 
bones  used  as  awls  are  necessarily  similar  all  over  the 
world.  Similarity  exists,  in  fact,  rather  in  the  raw 
material  than  in  the  manufactured  article,  and  some  even 
of  the  simplest  implements  of  stone  are  very  difi^erent 
among  different  races.  The  adze-like  hatchets  of  the 
South  Sea  Islanders  are  unlike  those  of  the  Australians 
or  ancient  Britons  ;  the  latter  again  differ  very  much 
from  the  type  which  is  characteristic  of  the  Drift  or 
Palaeolithic  Period. 

Again,  the  habits  and  customs  of  savages,  while  pre- 
senting many  remarkable  similarities,  which,  as  it  seems 
to  me,  go  far  to  prove  the  unity  of  the  human  race,  still 
differ  greatly,  and  thus  give  strong  evidence  of  inde- 
pendent development.  Many,  indeed,  of  those  differ- 
ences which  must  have  struck  anyone  in  reading  the 
preceding  part  of  the  chapter,  follow  evidently  and 
directly  from  the  external  conditions  in  which  different 
races  are  placed.  The  habits  of  an  Esquimaux  and  a 
Hottentot  could  not  possibly  be  similar.  But  let  us  take 
some  act  which  is  common  to  many  races,  and  is  suscep- 
tible of  being  accomplished  in  several  ways.  For  instance, 
most  savages  live  in  part  on  the  flesh  of  birds  ;  how  is 
this  obtained  ?  Generally  with  bows  and  arrows  ;  but 
while  the  Australians  catch  birds  with  the  hand,  or  kill 
them  with  the  simple  spear  or  the  boomerang,  the 
Fuegians  have  both  the  sling  and  the  bow,  while  the 
Esquimaux  use  a  complex  spear  with  several  points,  or  a 
projectile  which  consists  of  a  number  of  walrus-teeth 
fastened  together  by  short  pieces  of  string,  and  thus 
forming  a  kind  of  bolas.  The  northern  tribes  visited  by 
Kane  practised  a  different  method.  They  caught  large 
numbers    of    birds,  especially  little  auks,  in    small   nets, 


DOMESTIC   ANIMALS— FIRE  551 

resembling  landing-nets,  with  long  ivory  handles.  Yet 
this  very  people  were  entirely  ignorant  of  fishing.^ 

Take,  again,  the  use  made  of  the  dog.  At  first, 
probably,  the  dog  and  the  man  hunted  together,^  the 
cunning  of  the  one  supplemented  the  speed  of  the  other, 
and  they  shared  the  produce  of  their  joint  exertions. 
Gradually  mind  asserted  its  pre-eminence  over  matter, 
and  the  man  became  master.  Then  the  dog  was  em- 
ployed in  other  ways,  less  congenial  to  his  nature.  The 
Esquimaux  forced  him  to  draw  the  sledge  ;  the  Chinook 
kept  him  for  the  sake  of  his  wool  ;  the  South  Sea 
Islanders,  having  no  game,  bred  the  dog  for  food  ;  the 
Chonos  Indians  taught  him  to  fish  ;  where  tribes  became 
shepherds,  their  dogs  became  shepherds  also  ;  finally,  it  is 
recorded  by  Pliny  that  in  ancient  times  troops  of  dogs 
were  trained  to  serve  in  war.  Even  the  ox,  though  less 
versatile  than  the  dog,  has  been  used  for  the  first  and  the 
last  two  of  these  purposes. 

Again,  in  obtaining  fire,  two  principal  methods  are 
followed  ;  some  savages,  as  for  instance  the  Aleutians 
and  Fuegians,  using  percussion,  while  others,  as  the 
South  Sea  Islanders,  rub  one  piece  of  wood  against 
another.  The  Aleutians  rub  two  pieces  of  quartz  with 
sulphur,  and  then  strike  them  together,  catching  the 
sparks  on  dry  grass. ^  Opinions  are  divided  whether  we 
have  any  trustworthy  record  of  a  people  without  the 
means  of  obtaining  fire.  It  has  been  already  mentioned 
(pp.  448,  453)  that  some  of  the  Australians  and 
Tasmanians,  though  acquainted  with  fire,  did  not  know 
how  to  obtain  it.  In  his  history  of  the  Ladrone  Islands, 
Father  Gobien  asserts  that  fire,  "an  element  of  such 
universal  use,  was  utterly  unknown  to  them,  till  Magellan, 
provoked  by  their  repeated  thefts,  burned  one  of  their 
villages.  When  they  saw  their  wooden  houses  blazing, 
they  first  thought  the  fire  a  beast  which  fed  upon  wood, 

'    Kane,  Arctic  Exploratiofis^  vol.  ii.  pp.  203,  243. 

-  The  low  American  Wood   Indians,  however,  used  the  dog  rather  as  a 
watch-dog  than  as  a  hound. 

"■  Bancroft,  Nat.  Races  of  the  Pacific  States^  vol.  i.  p.  91. 


552  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

and  some  of  them  who  came  too  near  being  burnt,  the 
rest  stoDd  afar  off,  lest  they  should  be  devoured,  or 
poisoned,  by  the  violent  breathings  of  this  terrible  animal." 
The  fact  is  not  mentioned  in  the  original  account  of 
Magellan's  Voyage.  Freycinet  believes  that  the  assertion 
of  Father  Gobien  is  entirely  without  foundation.  The 
language,  he  says,  of  the  inhabitants  contains  words  for 
fire,  burning  charcoal,  oven,  grilling,  boiling,  etc.  ;  and 
even  before  the  advent  of  the  Europeans,  pottery^  was 
well  known.  It  is  difficult,  however,  to  get  over  the 
distinct  assertion  made  by  Gobien,  which  moreover  derives 
some  support  from  similar  statements  made  by  other 
travellers.  Thus  Alvaro  de  Saavedra  states  that  the 
inhabitants  of  certain  small  islands  in  the  Pacific,  which 
he  called  "Los  Jardines,"  but  which  cannot  now  be  satis- 
factorily determined,  stood  in  terror  of  fire,  because  they 
had  never  seen  it.^  Again,  Wilkes  tells  us  ^  that  on  the 
island  of  Fakaafo,  which  he  calls  "  Bowditch,"  "  there  was 
no  sign  of  places  for  cooking,  nor  any  appearance  of  fire." 
The  natives  also  were  very  much  alarmed  when  they  saw 
sparks  struck  from  flint  and  steel.  Here,  at  least,  we 
might  have  thought  was  a  case  beyond  question  or  sus- 
picion ;  the  presence  of  fire  could  hardly  have  escaped 
observation  ;  the  marks  it  leaves  are  very  conspicuous. 
If  we  cannot  depend  on  such  a  statement  as  this,  made 
by  an  officer  in  the  United  States  Navy,  in  the  official 
report  of  an  expedition  sent  out  especially  for  scientific 
purposes,  we  may  well  be  disheartened,  and  lose  confi- 
dence in  ethnological  investigations.  Yet  the  assertions 
of  Wilkes  are  questioned,  and  with  much  appearance  of 
justice,  by  Mr  Tylor.*  In  the  Ethnography  of.  the 
United  States  Exploring  Expedition,  Hale  gives  a  list 
of  Fakaafo  words,  in  which  we  find  afi  for  "  fire."  This 
is  evidently  the  same  word  as  the  New  Zealand  ahi  ;  but 
as  it  denotes  light  and  heat,  as  well  as  fire,  we  might 
suppose    that    it  thus   found   its    way    into    the   Fakaafo 

^  Z.f.,  vol.  ii.  p.  1 66.  2  Hakliiyt  Soc,  1862,  p.  178. 

''   United  States  Exp  I.  Exped.,  vol.  v.  p.  18. 
^  Early  History  of  Mankind^   p.  230. 


FIRE— BURIAL  §53 

vocabulary.  I  should  not,  therefore,  attribute  to  this 
argument  quite  so  much  force  as  does  Mr  Tylor.  It  is, 
however,  evident  that  Captain  Wilkes  did  not  perceive 
the  importance  of  the  observation,  or  he  would  certainly 
have  taken  steps  to  determine  the  question  ;  and  as  Hale, 
in  his  special  work  on  the  Ethnology  of  the  Expedition, 
does  not  say  a  word  on  the  subject,  it  is  clear  he  had  no 
idea  that  the  inhabitants  of  Fakaafo  exhibited  such  an 
interesting  peculiarity.  The  fact,  if  established,  would 
be  most  important  ;  but  it  cannot  be  said  to  be  satis- 
factorily proved  that  there  is  at  present,  or  has  been 
within  historical  times,  any  race  of  men  entirely  ignorant 
of  fire.  It  is  at  least  certain  that  as  far  back  as  the  earliest 
Swiss  lake-villages  and  Danish  shell-mounds  the  use  of 
fire  was  well  known  in  Europe. 

On  the  other  hand,  as  already  mentioned,  some  of  the 
Tasmanian  and  Australian  tribes,  and  of  the  Andaman 
Islanders,  though  well  acquainted  with  the  use  of  fire, 
know  no  way  of  kindling  it.  Consequently,  they  take 
great  pains  to  keep  it  always  burning,  and,  if  by  any 
mischance  it  should  be  extinguished,  are  obliged  to  get  a 
fresh  light  from  some  neighbouring  tribe. 

There  is,  again,  scarcely  any  conceivable  way  in  which 
the  dead  could  be  disposed  of  which  has  not  been  adopted 
in  some  part  of  the  world.  Among  some  races  the  corpse 
is  simply  buried  ;  by  others  it  is  burned.  Some  of  the 
North  American  Indians  expose  their  dead  on  scaffolds 
in  the  branches  of  trees.  Some  tribes  deposit  them  in 
sacred  rivers  ;  others  in  the  sea.  Among  the  Sea  Dyaks, 
the  dead  chief  is  placed  in  his  war  canoe,  with  his 
favourite  weapons  and  principal  property,  and  is  thus 
turned  adrift.  Other  tribes  gave  their  dead  to  be  food  for 
wild  beasts  ;  and  others  preferred  to  eat  them  themselves. 
Some  Brazilian  tribes  t^rink  the  dead.-^  The  Tarianas 
and  Tucanos,  and  some  other  tribes,  about  a  month  after 
the  funeral,  disinter  the  corpse,  which  is  then  much 
decomposed,  and  put  it  in  a  great  pan  or  oven  over  the 
fire,  till  all  the  volatile  parts  are  driven  off  with  a  most 

1  Wallace,  Ttavels  on  the  Amazo7^  p.  498. 


554  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

horrible  odour,  leaving  only  a  black  carbonaceous  mass, 
which  is  pounded  into  a  fine  powder,  and  mixed  in 
several  large  conches  of  caxiri  ;  this  is  drunk  by  the 
assembled  company,  under  the  full  belief  that  the  virtues 
of  the  deceased  will  thus  be  transmitted  to  the  drinkers. 
The  Cobeus  also  drink  the  ashes  of  the  dead  in  the  same 
manner. 

Indeed,  if  there  are  two  possible  ways  of  doing  a  thing, 
we  may  be  sure  that  some  tribes  will  prefer  one,  and 
some  the  other.  It  seems  natural  to  us  that  descent 
should  go  in  the  male  line  ;  but  there  are  very  many 
races  in  which  it  is  traced  from  the  mother,  not  the  father. 
The  husband  or  father  seems  to  us  to  be  the  natural  head 
of  the  family  ;  in  Tahiti  the  reverse  is  the  case,  and  the 
son  enters  at  once  into  the  property  and  titles  of  his 
father,  who  then  holds  them  only  as  a  guardian  or  trustee  ; 
so  that  among  this  extraordinary  people,  not  the  father, 
but  the  son,  is  in  reality  the  head  of  the  family.  So  also 
in  Australia,  the  father  is  called  after  the  son,  not  the 
son  after  the  father.  At  Cape  York  and  in  the  neigh- 
bouring islands  the  youngest  son  has  a  double  share. ^ 
Among  the  New  Zealanders,  and  various  other  races, 
including  some  districts  in  our  own  country,  the  youngest 
son  succeeds  to  the  property  of  the  father.^  Among  the 
Wanyameuzi,  property  descends  not  to  the  legitimate, 
but  to  the  illegitimate  children.^  There  are  many  races 
in  which  those  holding  certain  relationships  are  forbidden 
to  talk  to  one  another,  an  extraordinary  superstition 
which,  as  we  have  seen  (p.  463),  reaches  its  climax  among 
the  Fijians. 

It  seems  natural  to  us  that  after  child-birth  the  woman 
should  keep  her  bed,  and  that  as  far  as  possible  the 
husband  should  relieve  her  for  a  time  from  the  labours 
and  cares  of  life.  In  this,  at  least,  one  might  have  thought 
that  all  nations  would  be  alike.  Yet  it  is  not  so.  Among 
the  Caribs  the  father,  on  the  birth  of  a  child,  took  to  his 

1  M'Gillivray,  Voyaoe  of  H. M.S.  ''  Ratf/esjjake,''  vol.  ii.  p.  28. 
-  Nciu  Zealand  a?i,/  its  Aborigines,  p.  26. 
^  Burton's  Lake  Regions  0/ Africa,  p.  198. 


FAMILY   RELATIONS— DEATH  S55 

hammock,  and  placed  himself  in  the  hands  of  the  doctor, 
the  mother  meanwhile  going  about  her  work  as  usual. 
A  similar  custom  has  been  observed  on  the  mainland 
of  South  America,  among  the  Abipones,  Mundrucus, 
Fuegians,  etc.  ;  among  the  Arawaks  of  Surinam  ;  in  the 
Chinese  province  of  West  Yunnan  ;  among  the  Dyaks 
of  Borneo,  and  the  Esquimaux  of  Greenland.  It  is 
mentioned  by  Xenophon  as  occurring  in  Asia  Minor,  and 
by  Strabo  among  the  Iberians  ;  is  found  even  in  the 
present  day  among  the  Basques,  among  whom  we  are 
told  that  in  some  of  the  valleys  the  "  women  rise  immedi- 
ately after  child-birth,  and  attend  to  the  duties  of  the 
household,  while  the  husband  goes  to  bed,  taking  the 
baby  with  him,  and  thus  receives  the  neighbours'  compli- 
ments." The  same  habit  has  been  noticed  also  in  the 
south  of  France  ;  according  to  Diodorus  Siculus,  it 
prevailed  at  his  time  in  Corsica  ;  and  finally,  it  "  is  said 
still  to  exist  in  some  cantons  of  Beam,  where  it  is  called 
/aire  la  couvade^ 

Again,  the  love  of  life — the  dread  of  death — are  among 
the  strongest  of  our  feelings.  "  Everything  that  a  man 
hath  he  will  give  in  exchange  for  his  life."  This  is 
true,  but  by  no  means  universally  so.  According  to 
Azara,  the  Indians  of  Paraguay  have  a  great  indifference 
to  death  ;  and  we  have  already  seen  that  this  is  the 
case  with  the  Fijians  ;  while  Burton  makes  a  similar 
statement  as  regards  the  Negroes  of  Dahomey.  Among 
the  Chinese  it  is  said  that  a  man  condemned  to  death, 
if  permitted  to  do  so,  may  always  secure  a  substitute 
on  payment  of  a  moderate  sum  of  money  ;  and  a  coffin 
is  regarded  as  a  most  appropriate  present  for  an  aged 
relative. 

Again,  the  sounds  of  which  language  is  constituted 
differ  extremely  in  different  parts  of  the  world.  The  clicks 
of  the  Hottentots  are  a  striking  illustration  of  this.  The 
Hurons  did  not  use  the  labials  ;  the  Indians  of  Port  au 
Fran9ais  in  Columbia,  acccording  to  M.  de  Lamanon,^ 
make  no  use  of  the  consonants  b^f^  x',y,  d^  />,  or  v.     The 

'    Voyage  de  la  "  Perouse^^  vol.  ii.  p.  2 1 1, 


556  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

Peruvian  language  wanted  the  letters  b^  d^f^  g^  j,  and  x} 
The  Australians  did  not  use  the  sound  conveyed  by  our 
letter  s?  Many  of  the  Negroes  have  no  r.  The  Fijians 
do  not  use  the  letter  <:,  the  Somo-Somo  dialect  has  no  k^ 
that  of  Rakiraki  and  other  parts  no  t?  The  Society 
Islanders  and  Australians  exclude  both  s  and  c.^  In  re- 
presenting the  New  Zealand  language,  the  missionaries 
found  themselves  able  to  discard  no  less  than  thirteen 
letters,  namely  b^  c,  d,  f^  g,  j\  /,  ^,  j,  v,  x,  jy,  and  z.^ 
Schaafi-hausen  observes  that  the  labials  are  especially 
difficult  to  prognathous  races. 

Shortland  asserts  that  whistling  was  unknown  in  New 
Zealand.^  Even  the  symbols  by  which  the  feelings  are 
expressed  are  very  different  in  different  races.  Kissing 
appears  to  us  the  natural  expression  of  affection.  "  'Tis 
certain,"  says  Steele,  "  nature  was  its  author,  and  it  began 
with  the  first  courtship."  On  the  contrary,  it  was  entirely 
unknown  to  the  Tahitians,  the  New  Zealanders,'^  the 
Papuans,^,  and  the  aborigines  of  Australia  ;  nor  was  it  in 
use  among  the  Somals,^  or  the  Esquimaux.^*'  The  hill 
tribes  of  Chittagong  do  not  say  "  Kiss  me,"  but  "  Smell 
me."  ^^  The  Malays,^^  Fijians,^^  Tongans,  and  many  other 
Polynesians,  always  sit  down  when  speaking  to  a  superior  ; 
the  inhabitants  of  Mallicollo  testify  "  admiration  by  hissing 
like  a  goose,"  ^*  the  sound  being  perhaps  like  our  "  hush," 
a  call  for  silence,  and  hence  a  mark  of  interest  ;  the  mode 
of  showing  respect  among  the  Todas  of  the  Neilgherry 
hills  is  by  raising  the  open  right  hand  to  the  face,  resting 

1  Garcilasso  de   la    Vega,  Markham's   Translation,   Author's    Preface, 
p.  X. 

2  Freycinet,  vol.  ii.  p.  757  ;  D  UrviUe,  vol.  i.  pp.  188,  199,  481. 
2  Williams,  Ftgi  and  the  Figians,  vol.  i.  p.  v.  257. 

*  Ellis,  Polynesian  Researches,  vol.  i.  p.  yj. 

^  ^rown,  Neuf  Zealand  and  its  Aborigines, 'p.  100. 

"  Traditions  of  the  New  Zealanders,  p.  1 34. 

"  D'Urville,  vol.  ii.  p.  561  ;    Voyage  of  the  "  Novara"  vol.  iii.  p.  106. 

*  Freycinet,  vol.  ii.  p.  56. 

^  Burton's  First  Footsteps  in  Africa,  p.  123. 

'•^  'LyoTS's  four Jtal,  p.  353. 

"  Lewin,  Hill  Tribes  of  Chittagong,  p.  46. 

'2  Marsden,  Memoirs  of  a  Malayan  Family,  p.  2)1  ■ 

'^  Williams,  Figi  and  the  Figians,  vol.  i.  p.  38. 

"  Cook's  Second  Voyage,  vol.  ii.  p.  36. 


RESPECT— CLOTHING— VIRTUE         557 

the  thumb  on  the  bridge  of  the  nose  ;  at  Vatavulu  ^  it  is 
respectful  to  turn  one's  back  on  a  superior,  especially  in 
addressing  him.  The  same  custom  occurs  ^  in  Congo  ; 
Denham  found  it  ^  in  Central  Africa  ;  and  Speke  *  among 
the  Wahuma  in  the  east.  The  people  of  Iddah  shake 
their  clenched  fist/  while  on  the  White  Nile  and  in 
Ashantee  they  spit  on  you  as  a  compliment.  According 
to  Freycinet,  tears  were  regarded  in  the  Sandwich  Islands 
as  a  sign  of  happiness  ;  °  and  some  of  the  Esquimaux  pull 
noses  as  a  token  of  respect.^  Spix  and  Martius  assure  us 
that  blushing  was  unknown  among  the  Brazilian  Indians  ; 
and  that  only  after  long  intercourse  with  Europeans  does 
a  change  of  colour  become  in  them  any  indication  of 
mental  emotion.^ 

Again,  we  find  the  most  striking  differences  of  feeling 
in  the  matter  of  clothing.  The  Turk  thinks  it  highly 
improper  for  a  woman  to  show  her  face.  The  sculptures 
on  early  Indian  temples  show  that  a  race  may  attain  to  a 
considerable  degree  of  civilization  without  perceiving  any 
necessity  whatever  for  clothing.  This  is  the  case  with 
the  women  listening  to  Buddha  while  preaching,  and  even 
Buddha's  wife,  and  Maya  his  mother,®  are  habitually  so 
represented  ;  indeed,  Mr  Fergusson  does  not  hesitate  to 
say  that  "  before  the  Mahomedan  conquest  nudity  in 
India  conveyed  no  sense  of  indecency." 

The  ideas  of  virtue  also  differ  extremely.  Neither 
faith,  hope,  nor  charity  enters  into  the  virtues  of  a 
savage.  The  Sichuana  language  contains  no  expression 
for  thanks  ;  the  Algonquin  had  no  v/ord  for  love  ;  the 
Tinne  no  word  for  beloved  ;  mercy  was  with  the  North 
American  Indians  a  mistake,  and  peace  an  evil  ;  theft, 
says  Catlin,  they  "  call  capturing "  ;  humility  is  an  idea 

1  Figi  and  the  Figians,  vol.  i.  p.  1 54. 

2  Astley's  Voyage  and  Travels,  vol.  iii.  p.  72. 

3  Travels  and  Discoveries  in  Africa,  vol.  ii.  p.  27,  vol.  iii.  p.  15. 

4  Discovery  of  the  Source  of  the  Nile,  p.  206. 

5  Allan  and  Thompson,  Expedition  to  the  Niger,  vol.  i.  p.  290. 

"  L.c,  vol.  ii.  pp.  542,  589.  '   Ross,  Baffiris  Bay,  p.  118. 

**  Vol.  i.  p.  376. 

''  See,  for  instance,  Fergusson's  Tree  and  Serpent  Worship.     PI.  Ixxiv. 
and  passim. 


558  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

which  they  could  not  comprehend.  Among  the  Koupouees 
the  greatest  misconduct,  says  Major  M'Culloch,  "  is  to 
forgive  an  enemy,  the  first  virtue  is  revenge."  ^ 

Among  the  ancient  Greeks,  we  see  in  Homer  that  the 
deceitful  cunning  of  Ulysses  was  looked  upon  with 
approval. 

"  Is  a  man  to  starve,"  said  an  African,  indignantly,  to 
Capt.  Burton,  "  while  his  sister  has  children  whom  she 
might  sell  ? "  This  sentiment  reads  at  first  like  the  acme 
of  selfishness,  but  this  impression  would  perhaps  be 
unjust.  Marsden  records  a  Sumatran  Malay  as  saying, 
in  admiration  of  an  European  watch,  "  Is  it  not  fitting 
that  such  as  we  should  be  slaves  to  people  who  have  the 
ingenuity  to  invent,  and  the  skill  to  construct,  so  wonderful 
a  machine  ?''  ^ 

Chastity  before  marriage  was  not  reckoned  as  a  virtue 
by  the  New  Zealanders,^  the  hill  tribes  of  North  Aracan,* 
or  by  many  of  the  ruder  inhabitants  of  Northern  and 
Central  America  ;  ^  it  was  disapproved  of,  though  for 
very  different  reasons,  by  some  of  the  Brazilian  tribes,  by 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Ladrones,  and  by  the  Andamaners. 
According  to  Ulloa,^  the  Brazilians  do  not  approve  of 
chastity  in  an  unmarried  woman,  regarding  it  as  a  proof 
that  she  can  have  nothing  attractive  about  her.  The 
inhabitants  of  the  Ladrones,'^  and  of  the  Andaman 
Islands,*^  come  to  the  same  conclusion  ;  in  the  latter  case, 
however,  for  a  different  reason,  regarding  it  as  a  proof  of 
selfishness  and  pride.  On  the  other  hand,  many  races 
absolutely  prohibit  a  man  from  marrying  a  woman  of  his 
own  family  name  ;  the  Abipones  thought  it  a  sin  for  a 
man  to  pronounce  his  own  name  ;  the  Tahitians  thought 

1  Selection  from  the  Records  of  the  Government  of  India,  by  Major  W. 
M'Culloch,  p.  75. 
^  History  of  Sumatra,  p.  205. 
^  Brown,  New  Zealand  and  its  Aborigines,  p.  35. 

*  St  ]o\i\\,Jour.  Atithr.  Inst.  1872,  p.  239. 

^  Yx-Axv\Cim!%fourneys  to  the  Polar  Seas,  vol.  i.  p.  132  ;  Dunn's  Oregon 
Territory,  p.  92  ;  Bancroft,  Native  Races  of  the  Pacific  States,  vol.  i.  pp. 
123,  242. 

"  Pinkerton,  vol.  xiv.  p.  521.  '   Freycinet,  vol.  ii.  p.  370. 

*  Trans.  Ethn.  Soc,  New  Sen,  vol.  ii.  p.  35. 


CHASTITY— MARRIAGE  559 

it  very  wrong  to  eat  in  company,  and  were  horrified  at  an 
English  sailor,  who  carried  some  food  in  a  basket  on  his 
head.  This  prejudice  was  also  shared  by  the  New 
Zealanders,*  while  the  Fijians,  who  were  habitual  cannibals, 
who  regarded  mercy  as  a  weakness,  and  cruelty  as  a 
virtue,  fully  believed  that  a  woman  who  was  not  tattooed 
in  an  orthodox  manner  during  life,  could  not  possibly 
hope  for  happiness  after  death.  This  curious  idea  is  also 
found  among  the  Esquimaux.  Hall  tells  us  that  they 
tattoo  "  from  principle,  the  theory  being  that  the  lines 
thus  made  will  be  regarded  in  the  next  world  as  a  sign 
of  goodness."  ^  It  seems  to  the  Veddahs  the  most  natural 
thing  in  the  world  that  a  man  should  marry  his  younger 
sister,  but  marriage  with  an  elder  one  is  as  repugnant  to 
them  as  to  us.  Among  the  Friendly  Islanders  the  chief 
priest  was  considered  too  holy  to  be  married  ;  but  he  had 
the  right  to  take  as  many  concubines  as  he  pleased  ;  and 
even  the  chiefs  dared  not  refuse  their  daughters  to  him. 
In  Western  Africa  the  women  of  the  reigning  families 
might  have  as  many  lovers  as  they  wished,  but  were 
forbidden  to  degrade  themselves  by  marriage.  Among 
the  natives  of  New  South  Wales,  though  the  women 
wore  no  clothes,  it  was  thought  indecent  for  young  girls 
to  go  naked.^ 

Many  savage  races  think  it  wrong  for  a  woman  to  have 
twins  ;  among  the  Ibos  of  Eastern  Africa,  for  instance, 
in  such  a  case  the  children  were  exposed  to  wild  beasts, 
and  the  mother  was  driven  out  of  society.*  There  also 
it  is  thought  unlucky  to  cut  the  upper  teeth  before  the 
lower  ones,^  and  "  You  cut  your  top  teeth  first,"  is  the 
bitterest  of  insults.  1  cannot  indeed  but  think  that  the 
differences  observable  in  savage  tribes  are  even  more 
remarkable  than  the  similarities. 

1  D'Urville,  vol.  ii.  p.  533. 

2  Life  with  the  Esquimaux,  vol.  ii.  p.  315. 

3  D'Urville,  vol.  i.  p.  471  ;   Voyui^e  of  the  '■^Rattlesnake"  vol.  i.  p.  49. 

*  Burton's  Ijxke  Regions  of  Africa,  p.  90.  Gee,  for  other  instances  of 
this,  my  Origin  of  Civilisation,  2nd  cd.,  p.  25. 

^  This  idea  is,  I  find  to  ni)'  surprise,  also  prevalent  among  our  own 
nurses. 


560  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

In  endeavouring  to  estimate  the  moral  character  of 
savages,  we  must  remember  not  only  that  their  standard 
of  right  and  wrong  was,  and  is,  in  many  cases,  very 
different  from  ours,  but  also  that,  according  to  the 
statements  of  travellers,  some  of  them  can  hardly  be 
regarded  as  responsible  beings,  and  have  not  attained 
to  any  notions,  however  faulty  and  undefined,  of  moral 
rectitude.^  But  where  such  notions  do  exist,  they  differ 
widely,  as  we  have  seen,  from  our  own  ;  and  it  would 
open  up  too  large  a  question  to  inquire  whether,  in  all 
cases,  our  standard  is  the  correct  one. 

In  considering  the  character  of  women  belonging  to 
savage  or  semi-savage  races,  we  must  also  remember  that 
savages  often  regard  the  white  men  as  beings  of  a 
superior  order.  Thus  M.  du  Chaillu  tells  us  that  some 
of  the  African  savages  looked  upon  him  as  a  superior 
being  ;  and  the  South  Sea  Islanders  worshipped  Captain 
Cook  as  a  deity.  Even  when  they  had  killed  him,  and 
cut  him  into  small  pieces,  the  inhabitants  of  Owhyhee 
fully  expected  him  to  reappear,  and  frequently  asked 
"  what  he  would  do  to  them  on  his  return."  ^  However 
absurd  and  extravagant  such  a  belief  may  at  first  sight 
appear,  it  must  be  admitted  that  it  is  in  many  respects 
very  natural.  Savages  can  only  raise  their  minds  to  the 
conception  of  a  being  a  few  degrees  superior  to  themselves, 
and  Captain  Cook  was  more  powerful,  wiser,  and,  we 
may  add,  more  virtuous  than  most  of  their  so-called 
"  Deities."  Under  these  circumstances,  although  it  must 
be  admitted  that  the  chastity  of  the  women  is  not,  as  a 
general  rule,  much  regarded  among  savages,  we  must  not 
too  severely  condemn  them  on  this  account.  It  is  not 
surprising  that  any  connection  with  white  men  is  regarded 
rather  as  an  honour  than  as  a  disgrace  :  the  Europeans 
hold,  in  fact,  almost  the  same  position  in  public  estimation 
as  did  the  amorous  deities  of  ancient  mythology. 

Again,    with  savages,    as   with   children,    time    appears 

*  See,  for  instance,  Burchell,  vol.  i.  p.  461. 

-  Cook's   Voyage  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  by  Capt.  King,  F.R.S.,  vol.  iii. 
p.  69. 


MARRIAGE— MORALS  561 

longer  than  it  does  to  us,  and  a  temporary  marriage  as 
natural  and  honourable  as  one  that  is  permanent. 
Hospitality",  again,  is  frequently  carried  so  far  that  it  is 
thought  wrong  to  withhold  from  a  guest  anything  that 
might  contribute  to  his  comfort,  and  unless  therefore  he 
was  provided  with  a  temporary  wife,  hospitality  would  be 
regarded  as  incomplete.  This  custom  is  found  through- 
out North  America  and  the  South  Sea  Islands,  among 
the  Abyssinians,  Bedouins,  Kaffirs,  Patagonians,  and 
other  races.  Among  the  Esquimaux  it  is  considered  a 
great  mark  of  friendship  for  two  men  to  exchange  wives 
for  a  day  or  two.  It  has  been  already  mentioned  that  a 
Kandyan  chief,  described  by  Mr  Bailey,  was  quite 
scandalized  at  the  idea  of  having  only  one  wife.  It  was, 
he  said,  "just  like  monkeys."  When  Captain  Cook  was 
in  New  Zealand,  his  companions  contracted  many  tem- 
porary marriages  with  the  Maori  women  ;  these  were 
arranged  in  a  formal  and  decent  manner,  and  were 
regarded,  by  the  New  Zealanders  at  any  rate,  as  perfectly 
regular  and  innocent.^  Regnard^  assures  us  that  the 
Lapps  preferred  to  marry  a  girl  that  had  had  a  child  by 
a  white  man,  thinking  "  that  because  a  man  whom  they 
believe  to  be  possessed  of  a  better  taste  than  themselves 
has  been  anxious  to  give  marks  of  his  love  for  a  girl  of 
their  country,  she  must  therefore  be  possessed  of  some 
secret  merit."  Even  in  recent  years.  Lady  Duff  Gordon 
told  us,  in  her  paper  on  the  Cape,^  that  "  there  are  no 
so-called  '  morals '  among  the  coloured  people,  and  how 
or  why  should  there  ?  It  is  an  honour  to  one  of  these 
girls  to  have  a  child  by  a  white  man."  Taking  all  these 
facts  into  consideration,  the  intercourse  which  has  taken 
place  between  Europeans  and  women  of  lower  tribes 
must  not,  I  think,  be  too  severely  condemned,  or  rather 
the  blame  ought  to  fall  on  us  and  not  on  them.  But, 
even  among  savages  themselves,  we  must  admit  that 
female  virtue  is,  in  many  cases,  but  slightly  regarded  ;  as, 

^  Cook's  First  Voyage,  vol.  iii.  p.  450. 

'^  Ywi^itx'iovi,  Journey  to  Lapland,  vol.  i.  p.  166. 

^   Vacation  Tourists,  1863,  p.  178. 

36 


562  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

indeed,  is  but  natural  when  women  themselves  are  looked 
upon  as  little  better  than  domestic  animals.  Among 
many  tribes,  for  instance  the  South  Sea  Islanders  and  the 
Esquimaux,  indecent  dances  are  not  only  common,  but 
are  countenanced  by  women  of  the  highest  rank,  to  whom 
it  does  not  appear  to  occur  that  there  is  any  harm  or 
impropriety  in  them.  Judged  by  our  standards,  these 
facts  are  very  dreadful ;  but  we  must  remember  they  did 
not  entail  on  savages  the  same  fatal  consequences  as  with 
us  ;  and  before  we  condemn  them  too  severely,  let  us 
remember  our  own  literature  and  our  own  morality,  even 
in  the  eighteenth  century. 

The  harsh,  not  to  say  cruel  treatment  of  women,  which 
is  almost  universal  among  savages,  is  one  of  the  deepest 
stains  upon  their  character.  They  regard  the  weaker  sex 
as  beings  of  an  inferior  order,  as  mere  domestic  drudges. 
Nor  are  the  labours  and  sufferings  of  the  women  sweetened 
by  any  great  affection  on  the  part  of  those  for  whom  they 
toil.  We  have  already  seen  that  the  Algonquins  had  no 
word  for  "love"  in  their  language,  and  that  the  Tinne 
Indians  had  no  equivalent  for  "dear"  or  "beloved." 
Captain  Lefroy  ^  says  :  "  1  endeavoured  to  put  this 
intelligibly  to  Nannette,  by  supposing  such  an  expression 
as  *  ma  chere  femme  ;  ma  chere  fille.'  When  at  length 
she  understood  it,  her  reply  was  (with  great  emphasis), 
'  r  disent  jamais  9a  ;  i'  disent  ma  femme,  ma  fille.' " 
Spix  and  Martius  ^  tell  us  that  among  the  Brazilian  tribes 
the  father  has  scarcely  any,  the  mother  only  an  instinctive, 
affection  for  the  child.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that,  as 
an  almost  universal  rule,  savages  are  cruel  ;  but  we  must 
remember  that  they  are  less  sensitive  to  pain  than  those 
who  spend  much  of  their  time  indoors,  and  that  in 
many  cases  they  inflict  upon  themselves  also  the  most 
horrible  tortures. 

Savages  may  be  likened  to  children,  and  the  comparison 
is  not  only  correct,  but  also  highly  instructive.  Many 
naturalists  consider  that  the  early  condition    of    the   in- 

1  Richardson's  Arctic  Expedition,  vol.  ii.  p.  24. 
^  Reise,  vol.  i.  p.  381. 


AFFECTION— CHILDISHNESS  563 

dividual  indicates  that  of  the  race, — that  the  best  test  of 
the  affinities  of  a  species  are  the  stages  through  which  it 
passes.  So  also  it  is  in  the  case  of  man  ;  the  life  of  each 
individual  is  an  epitome  of  the  history  of  the  race,  and 
the  gradual  development  of  the  child  illustrates  that  of 
the  species.  Hence  the  importance  of  the  similarity 
between  savages  and  children.  Savages,  like  children, 
have  no  steadiness  of  purpose.  Speaking  of  the  Dogrib 
Indians,  we  found,  says  Richardson,^  "  by  experience, 
that  however  high  the  reward  they  expected  to  receive 
on  reaching  their  destination,  they  could  not  be  depended 
on  to  carry  letters.  A  slight  difficulty,  the  prospect  of  a 
banquet  on  venison,  or  a  sudden  impulse  to  visit  some 
friend,  were  sufficient  to  turn  them  aside  for  an  in- 
definite length  of  time."  Even  among  the  comparatively 
civilized  South  Sea  Islanders  this  childishness  was  very 
apparent.  "  Their  tears  indeed,'"^  like  those  of  children, 
were  always  ready  to  express  any  passion  that  was  strongly 
excited,  and  like  those  of  children  they  also  appear  to  be 
forgotten  as  soon  as  shed."  D'Urville  also  mentions 
that  Tai-wanga,  a  New  Zealand  chief,  cried  like  a  child 
because  the  sailors  spoilt  his  favourite  cloak  by  powdering 
it  with  flour,^  "  It  is  not,"  says  Cook,  "  indeed  strange 
that  the  sorrows  of  these  artless  people  should  be  transient, 
any  more  than  that  their  passions  should  be  suddenly 
and  strongly  expressed  ;  what  they  feel  they  have  never 
been  taught  either  to  disguise  or  suppress  ;  and  having 
no  habits  of  thinking  which  perpetually  recall  the  past 
and  anticipate  the  future,  they  are  affected  by  all  the 
changes  of  the  passing  hour,  and  reflect  the  colour  of  the 
time,  however  frequently  it  may  vary  ;  they  have  no 
project  which  is  to  be  pursued  from  day  to  day,  the 
subject  of  unremitted  anxiety  and  solicitude,  that  first 
rushes  into  the  mind  when  they  awake  in  the  morning, 
and  is  last  dismissed  when  they  sleep  at  night.     Yet  if 

*  Arctic  Expedition^  vol.  ii.  p.  23. 
-  Cook's  First  Voyage^  p.  103. 

■*  D'Urville,  vol.  ii.  p.  398.     See  also  Burton's  Lake  Regions  of  Central 
Africa,  p.  332. 


564  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

we  admit  that  they  are  upon  the  whole  happier  than  we,  we 
must  admit  that  the  child  is  happier  than  the  man,  and  that 
we  are  losers  by  the  perfection  of  our  nature,  the  increase 
of  our  knowledge,  and  the  enlargement  of  our  views." 

We  all  know  the  difficulty  which  children  find  in  pro- 
nouncing certain  sounds  :  r  and  /,  for  instance,  they 
constantly  confound.  This  is  the  case  also  among  the 
Sandwich  Islanders  and  in  the  Ladrones,  according  to 
Freycinet  ;  ^  in  Vanikoro,^  among  the  Dammaras  ; '  and 
in  the  Tonga  Islands.* 

Mr  Darwin  observed  that  the  Fuegians  had  great 
difficulty  in  comprehending  an  alternative. 

Savages,  again,  have  a  great  tendency  to  form  words 
by  re-duplication,  which  also  is  characteristic  of  childhood 
among  civilized  races. 

Again,  some  of  the  most  brutal  acts  which  have  been 
recorded  against  them  are  to  be  regarded  less  as  instances 
of  deliberate  cruelty,  than  of  a  childish  thoughtlessness 
and  impulsiveness.  A  striking  instance  of  this  is  recorded 
by  Byron  in  his  narrative  of  the  Loss  of  the  "  Meager." 
A  cacique  of  the  Chonos,  who  was  nominally  a  Christian, 
had  been  out  with  his  wife  to  fish  for  sea-eggs,  and,  having 
had  little  success,  returned  in  a  bad  humour.  "  A  little 
boy  of  theirs,  about  three  years  old,  whom  they  appeared 
to  be  doatingly  fond  of,  watching  for  his  father  and 
mother's  return,  ran  into  the  surf  to  meet  them  ;  the 
father  handed  a  basket  of  eggs  to  the  child,  which  being 
too  heavy  for  him  to  carry,  he  let  it  fall,  upon  which  the 
father  jumped  out  of  the  canoe,  and,  catching  the  boy  up 
in  his  arms,  dashed  him  with  the  utmost  violence  against 
the  stones.  The  poor  little  creature  lay  motionless  and 
bleeding,  and  in  that  condition  was  taken  up  by  the 
mother,  but  died  soon  aFter."  ^ 

In  fact,  we  may  fairly  sum  up  this  part  of  the  question 
in  a  few  words  by  saying,  as  the  most  general  conclusion 

1  Vol.  ii.  pp.  260,  519.  -  Vol.  V.  p.  218. 

3  Galton,  Tropical  South  Africa.,  ■p.  181. 

*  Mariner's  Tonga  Islands,  vol.  i.  p.  30. 

^  Byron's  Loss  of  the  "  Wager"  ;  Kerr's  Voyages,  vol.  xvii.  p.  374. 


INTELLECTUAL   CHARACTERISTICS     565 

which  can  be  arrived  at,  that  savages  have  the  character 
of  children  with  the  passions  and  strength  of  men.  No 
doubt  different  races  of  savages  differ  very  much  in 
character.  An  Esquimaux  and  a  Fijian,  for  instance, 
have  little  in  common.  But  after  making  every  possible 
allowance  for  savages,  it  must  I  think  be  admitted  that 
they  are  inferior,  morally  as  well  as  in  other  respects,  to 
the  more  civilized  races.  There  is  indeed  no  atrocious 
crime,  no  vice  recorded  by  any  traveller,  which  might  not 
be  paralleled  in  Europe.  But  that  which  is  with  us  the 
exception,  is  with  them  the  rule  ;  that  which  with  us  is 
condemned  by  the  general  verdict  of  society,  and  is 
confined  to  the  uneducated  and  vicious,  is  among  savages 
passed  over  almost  without  condemnation,  and  treated  as 
a  mere  matter  of  course.  In  Tahiti,  for  instance,  the 
missionaries  considered  that  "  not  less  than  two-thirds  of 
the  children  were  murdered  by  their  parents." 

If  we  now  turn  to  the  mental  differences  between 
civilized  and  uncivilized  races,  we  shall  find  them  very 
strongly  marked.  Speaking  of  a  Bushman  tribe,  Burchell 
observes  that  "  whether  capable  of  reflection  or  not,  these 
individuals  never  exerted  it."  ^  The  Rev.  T.  Dove  de- 
scribes the  Tasmanians  as  distinguished  "  by  the  absence 
of  all  moral  views  and  impressions.  Every  idea  bearing 
on  our  origin  and  destination  as  rational  beings  seems  to 
have  been  erased  from  their  breasts."  ^  It  would  be  easy 
to  fill  a  volume  with  the  evidence  of  excessive  stupidity 
recorded  by  different  travellers.  It  may  be  perhaps 
thought  that  these  were  rather  instances  of  individual 
dulness,  than  any  indication  of  a  national  characteristic  ; 
but  in  the  nature  and  capacity  of  a  language  we  find  a 
test  and  measure  of  the  higher  minds  in  a  nation.  Un- 
fortunately, however,  travellers  have  found  it  difficult 
enough  to  obtain  vocabularies  of  the  words  in  use  ;  and 
it  is  far  less  easy  to  collect  information  as  to  those  which 
they  do  not  possess.  Yet  there  are  not  a  few  cases  in 
which  this  has  been  done.      I  have  already  mentioned  the 

'  L.c,  vol.  i.  p.  461. 

'^   Tasmanian  Journal  of  Natural  Science^  vol.  i.  p.  249. 


S66  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

deficiency  of  some  North  American  languages  in  terms 
of  endearment  ;  this  fact  suggests  a  melancholy  condition 
of  the  domestic  relations,  but  it  may  here  be  referred  to 
again  as  an  evidence  of  a  low  mental,  as  well  as  moral, 
condition.  What  Spix  and  Martius  tell  us  about  the 
Brazilian  tribes  ^  appears  also  to  be  true  of  many,  if  not 
of  most,  savage  races.  Their  vocabulary  is  rich,  and 
they  have  separate  names  for  the  different  parts  of  the 
body,  for  all  the  different  animals  and  plants  with  which 
they  are  acquainted  ;  for  everything,  in  fact,  which  they 
can  see  and  handle.  Yet  they  are  entirely  deficient  in 
words  for  abstract  ideas  ;  they  have  no  expressions  for 
colour,  tone,  sex,  genus,  spirit,  etc. 

The  Abipones  have  no  such  words  as  man,  body,  place, 
time,  never,  ever,  everywhere,  etc.  ;  nor  such  a  verb  as 
"  to  be."  They  cannot  say,  "  I  am  an  Abipon,"  but  only, 
"  I  Abipon." "  The  Malay  language,  also,  according  to 
Crawfurd,  is  very  deficient  in  abstract  terms.  It  contains 
a  word  for  each  colour,  but  no  term  for  colour  itself. 
The  St  Petersburg  Bible  Society  endeavoured  some  years 
ago  to  translate  the  Lord's  Prayer  and  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments into  the  language  of  the  Tschuktschi,  but 
"  partly  from  the  language  being  entirely  deficient  in 
words  to  express  new  and  abstract  ideas,  and  partly  for 
want  of  letters  to  convey  the  variety  of  strange  and 
uncouth  sounds  of  which  the  language  itself  consists,  the 
translation  was  wholly  unintelligible."  ^ 

So,  again,  the  Tasmanians  had  no  word  for  a  tree, 
though  they  had  a  name  for  each  species  ;  nor  could  they 
express  "  qualities,  such  as  hard,  soft,  warm,  cold,  long, 
short,  round,  etc.  ;  for  '  hard '  they  would  say  '  like  a 
stone  '  ;  for  '  tall '  they  would  say  '  long  legs,'  etc.  ;  and 
for  '  round '  they  said  '  like  a  ball,'  '  like  the  moon,'  and 
so  on."*  According  to  the  missionaries,^  Fuegians  have 
"  no   abstract   terms    for    expressing    the    truths    of    our 

'  /vet'sc  z'n  Brasilicjt,  vol.  i.  p.  3S5.  '  Dobritzhofifer,  vol.  ii.  p.  183. 

^  Wrangell's  Siberia  and  Polar  Sea,  p.  121. 

*  Milligan,  Proc.  Roy.  Society,  Tasmania,  vol.  iii.  p.  281. 

''  The  Voice  of  Pity,  vol.  x.  p.  152. 


LANGUAGE 


567 


religion  "  ;  and  among  the  North  American  languages, 
"  a  term  sufficiently  general  to  denote  an  '  oak-tree  '  is 
exceptional."  ^  Even  the  comparatively  civilized  inhabi- 
tants of  Tahiti  had,  according  to  Forster,  "  no  proper 
words  for  expressing  abstract  ideas."  ^ 

The  names  for  numbers  are,  perhaps,  the  best,  or,  at 
least,  the  most  easily  applicable  test  of  mental  condition 
among  the  lower  races  of  man.  We  have  seen  that  the 
Esquimaux  can  only  with  difficulty  count  up  to  ten,  and 
that  some  individuals  cannot  go  beyond  five.  The 
Abipones*  can  only  express  three  numbers  in  proper 
words.  The  Dammaras  "  in  practice,  whatever  they  may 
possess  in  their  language,  certainly  use  no  numeral 
greater  than  three.  When  they  wish  to  express  four, 
they  take  to  their  fingers,  which  are  to  them  as  formidable 
instruments  of  calculation  as  a  sliding  rule  is  to  an  English 
schoolboy.  They  puzzle  very  much  after  five,  because 
no  spare  hand  remains  to  grasp  and  secure  the  fingers 
that  are  required  for  units."  *  Mr  Crawfurd,  to  whom 
we  are  indebted  for  an  interesting  paper  on  this  subject,^ 
has  examined  no  less  than  thirty  Australian  languages, 
and  it  appears  that  none  of  the  tribes  in  that  vast  conti- 
nent count  beyond  four.  According  to  Mr  Scott  Nind, 
indeed,  the  numerals  used  by  the  natives  of  King  George's 
Sound  reach  up  to  five  ;  but  the  last  is  merely  the  word 
"  many."  The  Cape  Yorkers  (Australia)  can  hardly  be 
said  to  go  beyond  two  ;  their  numerals  are  as  follows  : 


One      . 

.     Netat. 

Two 

.     Naes. 

Three  . 

Naes-netat. 

Four     . 

Naes-naes. 

Five 

Naes-naes-netat 

Six 

Naes-naes-naes. 

The  Brazilian   Indians  also  count  only  up  to  three  ;  for 
any  higher  number  they  use  the  word  "  many."  ^ 

1   Latham,  Varieties  of  Man,  p.  375.  '^  L.c,  p.  403. 

^  Dobritzhoffer,  vol.  ii.  p.  169.  ''  Galton's  Tropical  Africa,  p.  33. 

^  Ethnoloi^ical  Society s  Transactions,  New  Series,  vol.  ii.  p.  84. 
"  Spix  and  Martins,  vol.  i.  p.  387. 


568  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

Again,  in  the  state  of  their  religious  conceptions,  still 
more  in  the  absence  of  religious  conceptions,  we  get 
another  proof  of  extreme  mental  inferiority.  The 
question  has  been  frequently  discussed  whether  there  is 
any  race  of  men  so  degraded  as  to  be  entirely  without  a 
religion — without  some  idea  of  a  deity.^  The  conclusion 
to  be  arrived  at  depends,  as  it  seems  to  me,  very  much 
on  the  meaning  which  we  ascribe  to  the  term  of  "  religion." 
If  a  mere  fear  of  the  unknown,  if  a  more  or  less  vague 
belief  in  witchcraft,  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  religion,  it 
would,  I  think,  be  difficult  to  refute  this  assertion.  But 
if  any  higher  estimate  of  religion  is  adopted,  then,  so  far 
from  this  being  true,  the  very  reverse  is  the  case.  Many, 
we  might  almost  say  all,  of  the  most  savage  races  are, 
according  to  the  nearly  universal  testimony  of  travellers, 
in  this  condition.^ 

According  to  Spix  and  Martius,^  Bates  and  Wallace, 
some  of  the  Brazilian  Indians  were  entirely  without 
religion.  Burmeister  confirms  this  statement,  and,  in  the 
list  of  the  principal  tribes  of  the  valley  of  the  Amazons, 
published  by  the  Hakluyt  Society,  the  Chunchos  are 
stated  "  to  have  no  religion  whatever,"  and  we  are  told 
that  the  Curetus  "have  no  idea  of  a  Supreme  Being." 
The  same  is  said  of  the  Toupinambas.  Bates*  tells  us 
"  that  none  of  the  tribes  on  the  Upper  Amazons  have  an 
idea  of  a  Supreme  Being,  and  consequently  have  no  word 
to  express  it  in  their  languages."  Azara  also  makes  the 
same  statement  as  regards  many  of  the  South  American 
tribes  visited  by  him.^  The  South  American  Inciians  of 
the  Gran  Chaco  are  said  by  the  missionaries  to  have  "  no 
religious  or  idolatrous  belief  or  worship  whatever  ;  neither 

1  I  have  discussed  this  question  at  greater  length  in  my  Marnage, 
Toteinis7n^  and  Religion  :  an  Anszuer  io  Critics,  Longmans,  191 1. 

2  Mr  Lang  has  attempted  to  show  {The  Making  0/  Religion)  that  even 
the  lowest  races  of  men  believe  in  an  ''  omnipotent,  moral,  and  eternal 
Father  and  Judge."  Mr  Hartland  in  Folk  Lore  for  Dec.  1898  has, 
I  think,  completely  replied  to  his  arguments. 

^  Reise  in  Brasilien,  vol.  i.  p.  379. 
^  Life  171  the  Amazons,  vol.  ii.  p.  162. 

^  Voyages  dans  PAme'r.  Merid.^  vol.  ii.  pp.  3,  14,  33,  51,  60,  76,  80,  81, 
84,  90,  138,  160,  164,  166. 


RELIGIOUS   BELIEFS  569 

do  they  possess  any  idea  of  God  or  of  a  Supreme  Being. 
They  make  no  distinction  between  right  and  wrong,  and 
have,  therefore,  neither  fear  nor  hope  of  any  present  or 
future  punishment  or  reward,  nor  any  mysterious  terror 
of  some  supernatural  power,  whom  they  might  seek  to 
assauge  by  sacrifices  or  superstitious  rites."  ^ 

Father  Baegert,  who  lived  as  a  missionary  among  the 
Indians  of  California  for  seventeen  years,  affirms  that 
"  idols,  temples,  religious  worship,  or  ceremonies  were 
unknown  to  them,  and  they  neither  believed  in  the  true 
and  only  God,  nor  adored  false  deities  "  ;  ^  and  M.  de  la 
Perouse  also  says  that  they  "  had  no  knowledge  of  a 
God,  or  of  a  future  state."  Golden,  who  had  ample 
means  of  judging,  assures  us  that  the  celebrated  "  five 
nations  "  of  Canada  "  had  no  public  worship  nor  any  word 
for  God  "  ;  and  Hearne,  who  lived  amongst  the  Northern 
American  Indians  for  years,  and  was  perfectly  acquainted 
with  their  habits  and  language,  says  the  same  of  some 
tribes  on  Hudson's  Bay. 

In  the  Voyage  of-^  P Astrolabe j''  it  is  stated  that  the  natives 
of  the  Samoan  and  Solomon  Islands,  in  the  Pacific,  had  no 
religion,  and  in  the  Voyage  of  the  ^'■Nonjara^''  the  same  is  said 
of  the  Caroline  Islanders.  The  Samoans  "  have  neither 
morals,  nor  temples,  nor  altars,  nor  offerings,  and  conse- 
quently none  of  the  sanguinary  rites,  observed  at  the 
other  groups.  In  consequence  of  this  the  Samoans  were 
considered  an  impious  race  by  their  neighbours  ;  and  their 
impiety  became  proverbial  with  the  people  of  Rarotonga, 
for,  when  upbraiding  a  person  who  neglected  the  worship 
of  the  gods,  they  would  call  him  "a  godless  Samoan."^ 
On  Damood  Island,  between  Australia  and  New  Guinea, 
Jukes  could  find  no  "  traces  of  any  religious  belief  or 
observance."  *  Duradawan,  a  sepoy  who  lived  some  time 
with  the  Andaman  Islanders,  maintained  that  they  had  no 
religion,    and   Dr  Mouatt  believes  his  statements  to  be 

'    Voice  oj  Pity^  vol.  ix.  p.  220. 

^  See  Mr  Kau's  translation,  Stnif/isonian  Contrib.  1863-64,  p.  390. 

■'  Missiona7y  Kntcrpjises,  p.  464. 

^  Juke's  Voyage  of  the  "/'Vy,"  vol.  i.  p.  164. 


570  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

correct.-^  Portman,  who  lived  so  long  with  them,  and 
studied  them  so  lovingly,  makes  the  same  statement  as 
regards  the  native  of  the  Lesser  Andamans.^  Some  of 
the  Australian  tribes  also  are  said  to  have  no  religion.^  In 
the  Pellew  Islands,  Wilson  found  no  religious  buildings, 
nor  any  sign  of  religion. 

Mr  Wallace,  who  had  excellent  opportunities  for 
judging,  and  whose  merits  as  an  observer  no  one  can 
question,  tells  us  that  among  the  people  of  Wanumbai,  in 
the  Aru  Islands,  he  could  find  no  trace  of  a  religion  ;  * 
adding,  however,  that  he  was  but  a  short  time  among 
them. 

The  Yenadies  and  the  Villees,  according  to  Dr  Shortt, 
are  entirely  without  any  belief  in  a  future  state  ;  ^  and 
again.  Hooker  tells  us  that  the  Lepchas  of  Northern 
India  have  no  religion.  Captain  Grant  could  find  "  no 
distinct  form  of  religion  "  in  some  of  the  comparatively 
civilized  tribes  visited  by  him.*^  According  to  Burchell,  the 
Bachapins  (Kaffirs)  had  no  form  of  worship  or  religion.^ 
They  thought  "  that  everything  made  itself,  and  that  trees 
and  herbage  grew  by  their  own  will."  They  had  no 
belief  in  a  good  deity,  but  some  vague  idea  of  an  evil 
being.  Indeed,  the  first  idea  of  a  god  is  almost  always  as 
an  evil  spirit. 

Speaking  of  the  Foulahs  of  Wassoulo,  in  Central 
Africa,  Caillie  states  :  "  I  tried  to  discover  whether  they 
had  any  religion  of  their  own  ;  whether  they  worshipped 
fetishes,  or  the  sun,  moon,  or  stars  ;  but  I  could  never 
perceive  any  religious  ceremony  amongst  them."  ^  Again, 
he  says  of  the  Bainbaras  that,  "  like  the  people  of  Wassoulo, 
they  have  no  religion,"  ^  adding,  however,  that  they  have 
great  faith  in  charms. 

*  Trans.  Ethn.  Soc,  vol.  ii.  p.  45. 
V-  G^og.  Soc,  Sep.  1888. 

3  Collins'  English  Colony  in  New  South  Wales,  p.  354. 

*  The  Malayan  Archipelago,  vol.  ii.  p.  280. 

^  Proceedings  of  Madras  Government,   Revenue    Department.     May 
1864. 
^  A  Walk  across  Africa,  p.  145. 
^  Travels  itt  South  Africa,  vol.  ii.  p.  550. 

*  Travels  to  Timbuctoo,  vol.  i.  p.  303.  ^  L.c,  p.  375. 


RELIGIOUS   BELIEFS  571 

Burton  also  states  that  some  of  the  tribes  in  the  lake 
districts  of  Central  Africa  "  admit  neither  God,  nor  angel, 
nor  devil."  ^  Speaking  of  Hottentots,  Le  Vaillant  says  :  ^ 
"  Je  n'y  ai  vu  aucune  trace  de  religion,  rien  qui  approche 
m^me  de  I'idee  d'un  etre  vengeur  et  remunerateur.  J'ai 
vecu  assez  longtemps  avec  eux,  chez  eux  aux  sein  de  leurs 
deserts  paisibles  ;  j'ai  fait,  avec  ces  braves  humains,  des 
voyages  dans  des  regions  fort  eloignees  ;  nulle  part  je  n'ai 
rencontre  rien  qui  ressemble  a  la  religion."  Livingstone 
mentions  that  on  one  occasion,  after  talking  to  a  Bushman 
for  some  time,  as  he  supposed,  about  the  Deity,  he  found 
that  the  savage  thought  he  was  speaking  about  Sekomi, 
the  principal  chief  of  the  district. 

Speaking  of  the  Esquimaux,  Ross  says  :  "  Ervick,  being 
the  senior  of  the  first  party  that  came  on  board,  was  judged 
to  be  the  most  proper  person  to  question  on  the  subject 
of  religion.  I  directed  Sacheuse  to  ask  him  if  he  had  any 
knowledge  of  a  Supreme  Being  ;  but  after  trying  every 
word  used  in  his  own  language  to  express  it,  he  could 
not  make  him  understand  what  he  meant.  It  was  dis- 
tinctly ascertained  that  he  did  not  worship  the  sun,  moon, 
stars,  or  any  image  or  living  creature.  When  asked  what 
the  sun  or  moon  was  for,  he  said  to  give  light.  He  had 
no  knowledge  or  idea  how  he  came  into  being,  or  of  a 
future  state  ;  but  said  that  when  he  died  he  would  be  put 
into  the  ground.  Having  fully  ascertained  that  he  had 
no  idea  of  a  beneficent  Supreme  Being,  I  proceeded, 
through  Sacheuse,  to  inquire  if  he  believed  in  an  evil 
spirit  ;  but  he  could  not  be  made  to  understand  what  it 
meant.  .  .  .  He  was  positive  that  in  this  incantation  he 
did  not  receive  assistance  from  anything,  nor  could  he  be 
made  to  understand  what  a  good  or  an  evil  spirit  meant."  ^ 

In  some  cases  travellers  have  arrived  at  these  views 
very  much  to  their  own  astonishment.  Thus  Father 
Dobritzhoffer  says  :  "Theologians  agree  in  denying  that 
any  man  in  possession  of  his  reason  can,  without  a  crime, 

'   Trans.  RtJm.  Soc,  New  Ser.,  vol.  i.  p.  323. 

-   Voyat^cs  dans  VAfrique,  vol.  i.  p.  93. 

^  Ross's  V^pyage  of  Discovery  to  the  Arctic  Regions,  p.  127. 


572  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

remain  ignorant  of  God  for  any  length  of  time.  This 
opinion  I  warmly  defended  in  the  University  of  Cordoba, 
where  I  finished  the  four  years'  course  of  theology  begun 
at  Gratz,  in  Styria.  But  what  was  my  astonishment 
when,  on  removing  from  thence  to  a  colony  of  Abipones, 
I  found  that  the  whole  language  of  these  savages  does 
not  contain  a  single  word  which  expresses  God  or  a 
divinity.  To  instruct  them  in  religion  it  was  necessary 
to  borrow  the  Spanish  word  for  God,  and  insert  into  the 
catechism  '  Dios  ecnam  caogerik,'  '  God,  the  creator  of 
things.' "  ^ 

Canon  Callaway,  in  his  Religious  System  of  the  Amazulu 
Kaffirs^  agrees  ^  with  Casalis,  Arbousset,  Vanderkemp,  and 
Moffat,  that  they  have  "  scarcely  any  notion  of  a  Deity, 
if  any." 

We  have  already  observed  a  case  of  this  kind  in 
Kolben,  who,  in  spite  of  the  assertions  of  the  natives 
themselves,  felt  quite  sure  that  certain  dances  must  be  of 
a  religious  character,  "let  the  Hottentots  say  what  they 
will."  Again,  Mr  Matthews,  who  went  out  to  act  as  a 
missionary  among  the  Fuegians,  but  was  soon  obliged  to 
abandon  the  hopeless  task,  observed  only  one  act  "  which 
could  be  supposed  devotional."  He  sometimes,  we  are 
told,  "  heard  a  great  howling  or  lamentation  about  sunrise 
in  the  morning  ;  and  upon  asking  Jemmy  Button  what 
occasioned  the  outcry,  he  could  obtain  no  satisfactory 
answer  ;  the  boy  only  saying,  '  People  very  sad,  cry  very 
much.' "  This  appears  so  natural  and  sufficient  an  ex- 
planation, that  why  the  outcry  should  be  "  supposed 
devotional,"  I  must  confess  myself  unable  to  see.  Once 
more.  Sir  J.  D.  Hooker  states  that  the  Khasias,  an  Indian 
tribe,  had  no  religion.  Col.  Yule,^  on  the  contrary,  says 
that  they  have  ;  but  he  admits  that  breaking  hens'  eggs 
is  "the  principal  part  of  their  religious  practice."  But 
if  most  travellers  have  expected  to  find  a  religion  every- 
where, and   have    been    convinced,  almost   against    their 

^  L.C.,  vol.  ii.  p.  57.     See  also  p.  64. 

^  Callaway,  Religious  System  of  the  Ainasulu,  p.  124. 

^  Yule,  On  the  KJiasia  Hills  and  People^  p.  18. 


RELIGIOUS   BELIEFS  573 

will,  that  the  reverse  is  the  case,  it  is  quite  possible  that 
there  may  have  been  others  who  have  too  hastily  denied 
the  existence  of  a  religion  among  the  tribes  they  visited. 
However  this  may  be,  those  who  assert  that  even  the 
lowest  savages  believe  in  a  Supreme  Deity,  affirm  that 
which  is  entirely  contrary  to  the  evidence.  The  direct 
testimony  of  travellers  on  this  point  is  indirectly  corro- 
borated by  their  other  statements.  How,  for  instance, 
can  a  people  who  are  unable  to  count  their  own  fingers, 
possibly  raise  their  mind  so  far  as  to  realize  the  difficult 
problems  of  religion.''^  This  view  becomes  less  im- 
probable when  we  consider  those  races  who  present  us 
with  what  may  be  called  the  Dawn  of  Religion.  Fetich 
worship,  which  is  so  widely  prevalent  in  Africa,  can 
hardly  be  called  a  religion  ;  and  even  the  South  Sea 
Islanders,  who  were  in  many  respects  so  highly  civilized, 
are  said  to  have  been  seriously  offended  with  their  deity 
if  they  thought  that  he  treated  them  with  undue  severity, 
or  without  proper  consideration.  According  to  Kotzebue, 
the  Kamschatkans  adored  their  deities  "  when  their  wishes 
were  fulfilled,  and  insulted  them  when  their  affairs  went 
amiss."  ^  When  the  missionaries  introduced  a  printing- 
press  into  Fiji,  "  the  heathen  at  once  declared  it  to  be 
a  god."  ^ 

The  natives  of  the  Nicobar  Islands  put  up  scarecrows 
to  frighten  away  the  deity,*  and  Burton  once  heard  an  old 
Eesa  woman,  who  was  suffering  from  toothache,  offer  up 
the  following  prayer  :  "  Oh  Allah,  may  thy  teeth  ache 
like  mine  !  Oh  Allah,  may  thy  gums  be  as  sore  as  mine 
are  now  !  " 

Savages  very  generally  believe  in  witchcraft.  Con- 
fusing together  subjective  and  objective  relations,  he  is  a 
prey  to  constant  fears. 

Perhaps  the  lowest  form  of  religion  may  be  considered 
to  be  that  presented  by  the  Australians,  which   consists 

^  See,  for  instance,  Greg's  Creed  of  Christendom,  p.  212. 
2  New  Voyage  Round  the  World,  vol.  ii.  p.  13. 
^  Figi  and  the  Figians,  vol.  ii.  p.  222. 
^   Voyage  of  the  "  Novara,''  vol.  ii.  p.  66. 


574  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

of  a  mere  unreasoning  belief  in  the  existence  of  mysterious 
beings.  The  native  who  has  a  nightmare,  or  a  dream, 
does  not  doubt  the  reality  of  that  which  passes,  and  as 
the  beings  by  whom  he  is  visited  in  his  sleep  are  unseen 
by  his  friends  and  relations,  he  regards  them  as  invisible. 

In  Fetichism  this  feeling  is  more  methodized.  The 
negro  endeavours  to  make  a  slave  of  his  deity.  Thus 
Fetichism  is  almost  the  opposite  of  Religion  ;  it  stands 
towards  it  in  the  same  relation  as  Alchemy  to  Chemistry, 
or  Astrology  to  Astronomy. 

A  further  stage  is  that  in  which  the  superiority  of  the 
higher  deities  is  more  fully  recognized.  Everything  is 
worshipped  indiscriminately — animals,  plants,  and  even 
inanimate  objects.  In  endeavouring  to  account  for  the 
worship  of  animals,  we  must  remember  that  names  are 
very  frequently  taken  from  them.  The  children  and 
followers  of  a  man  called  the  Bear  or  the  Lion  would 
make  that  a  tribal  name.  Hence  the  animal  itself  would 
be  first  respected,  at  last  worshipped. 

"  The  Totem,"  says  Schoolcraft,  "  is  a  symbol  of  the 
name  of  the  progenitor — generally  some  quadruped  or 
bird,  or  other  object  in  the  animal  kingdom,  which 
stands,  if  we  may  so  express  it,  as  the  surname  of  the 
family.  Its  significant  importance  is  derived  from  the 
fact  that  individuals  unhesitatingly  trace  their  lineage 
from  it."  Totemism,  however,  is  by  no  means  confined 
to  America,  but  occurs  also  in  India,  Africa,  and  in  fact 
almost  everywhere,^  often  in  connection  with  marriage 
prohibitions. 

Mr  Fergusson  has  recently  attempted  to  show  the 
special  prevalence  of  Tree  and  Serpent  worship.  He 
might,  I  believe,  have  made  out  as  strong  a  case  for 
many  other  objects.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the 
savage  accounts  for  all  action  and  movement  by  life  ; 
inanimate  objects,  therefore,  have  spirits  as  well  as  men  ; 
hence  when  the  wives  and  slaves  are  slain,  the  weapons 
also  are  broken  in  the  grave,  so  that  the  spirits  of  the 

1   Trans.  Ethnol.  Soc,  N.S.,  vol.  vi.  p.  36;  Lafitau,  Mccurs  des  Sauv. 
Amer.,  vol.  i.  p.  464. 


ANIMAL  WORSHIP— IDOLATRY         575 

latter,  as  well  as  of  the  former,  may  accompany  their 
master  to  the  other  world. 

The  gradually  increasing  power  of  chiefe  and  priests 
led  to  Anthropomorphism  and  idolatry,  which  must  by 
no  means  be  regarded  as  the  lowest  state  of  religion. 
Solomon,^  indeed,  long  ago  pointed  out  its  connection 
with  monarchical  power. 

It  is  important  to  observe  that  each  stage  of  religion 
is  superimposed  on  the  preceding,  and  that  bygone  beliefs 
linger  on  among  the  children  and  the  ignorant.  Thus 
witchcraft  is  still  believed  in  by  the  ignorant,  and  fairy- 
tales flourish  in  the  nursery. 

As  regards  pictures,  the  most  curious  fancies  exist 
among  savage  races.  They  have  a  very  general  dislike 
to  be  represented,  thinking  that  the  artist  thereby  acquires 
some  mysterious  power  over  them.  Kane  on  one  occasion 
freed  himself  from  some  importunate  Indians  by  threaten- 
ing to  draw  them  if  they  did  not  go  away.  I  have 
already  mentioned  (p.  524)  the  danger  in  which  Catlin 
found  himself  from  sketching  a  chief  in  a  profile,  and 
thereby,  as  it  was  supposed,  depriving  him  of  half  his 
face.  So,  again,  a  mysterious  connection  is  supposed  to 
exist  between  a  cut  lock  of  hair  and  the  person  to  whom 
it  belonged.  In  various  parts  of  the  world  the  sorcerer 
gets  clippings  of  the  hair  of  his  enemy,  parings  of  his 
nails,  or  leavings  of  his  food,  convinced  that  whatever 
evil  is  done  to  these  will  react  on  their  former  owner. 
Even  a  piece  of  clothing,  or  the  ground  on  which  a 
person  has  trodden,  will  answer  the  purpose,  and  among 
some  tribes  the  mere  knowledge  of  a  person's  name  is 
supposed  to  give  a  mysterious  power.  The  Indians  of 
British  Columbia  have  a  great  horror  of  telling  their 
names.  Among  the  Algonquins  a  person's  real  name  is 
communicated  only  to  his  nearest  relations  and  dearest 
friends  :  the  outer  world  address  him  by  a  kind  of  nick- 
name. Thus  the  true  name  of  La  Belle  Sauvage  was 
not  Pocahontas,  but  Matokes,  which  they  were  afraid  to 
communicate  to  the  English.      In  some  tribes  these  name- 

^  Wisd.  xiv.  17. 


576  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

fancies  take  a  different  form.  According  to  Ward,  it  is 
an  unpardonable  sin  for  a  Hindoo  woman  to  mention  the 
name  of  her  husband.  The  Kaffirs  have  a  similar  custom, 
and  so  have  some  East  African  tribes.  In  many  parts 
of  the  world  the  names  of  the  dead  are  avoided  with 
superstitious  horror.  This  is  the  case  in  great  parts  of 
North  and  South  America,  in  Siberia,  among  the  Papuans 
and  Australians,  and  even  in  Shetland,  where  it  is  said 
that  widows  are  very  reluctant  to  mention  their  departed 
husbands. 

Throughout  Australia,  among  some  of  the  Brazilian 
tribes,  in  parts  of  Africa,  and  in  various  other  countries, 
natural  death  is  regarded  as  an  impossibility.  In  the 
New  Hebrides,  "  when  a  man  fell  ill,  he  knew  that  some 
sorcerer  was  burning  his  rubbish  ;  and  shell-trumpets, 
which  could  be  heard  for  miles,  were  blown  to  signal  to 
the  sorcerers  to  stop,  and  wait  for  the  presents  which 
would  be  sent  next  morning.  Night  after  night,  Mr 
Turner  used  to  hear  the  melancholy  too-tooing  of  the 
shells,  entreating  the  wizards  to  stop  plaguing  their 
victims."  ^  Savages  never  know  but  what  they  may  be 
placing  themselves  in  the  power  of  these  terrible  enemies  ;^ 
and  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  horrible  dread  of 
unknown  evil  hangs  like  a  thick  cloud  over  savage  life, 
and  embitters  every  pleasure. 

Nor  is  the  belief  in  sorcery  easily  shaken  off  even  by 
the  most  civilized  nations.  James  the  First  was  under 
the  impression  that  by  melting  little  images  of  wax, 
"  the  persons  that  they  bear  the  name  of  may  be  con- 
tinually melted  or  dried  away  by  continual  sickness." 
The  belief  in  witchcraft  is  not  indeed  even  yet  extinct 
among  us. 

The  mental  sufferings  which  they  thus  undergo,  the 
horrible  tortures  which  they  sometimes  inflict  on  them- 
selves, and  the  crimes  which  they  are  led  to  commit,  are 
melancholy  in  the  extreme.  It  must  not  be  supposed 
that  in  the  preceding  chapter  I  have  selected  from  various 

1  Tylor,  I.e.,  p.  129 ;  Turner's  Polynesia,  pp.  18,  89,  424. 
^  See  Brown,  New  Zealand  and  its  Aborigines,  p.  80. 


WITCHCRAFT— SORCERY  577 

works  all  the  passages  most  unfavourable  to  savages,  and 
that  the  picture  I  have  drawn  of  them  is  unfair.  In 
reality,  the  very  reverse  is  the  case.  Their  real  condition 
is  even  worse  and  more  abject  than  that  which  I  have 
endeavoured  to  depict.  I  have  been  careful  to  quote 
only  from  trustworthy  authorities,  but  there  are  many 
things  stated  by  them  which  I  have  not  ventured  to 
repeat ;  and  there  are  other  facts  which  the  travellers  tell 
us  they  could  not  bring  themselves  to  publish. 


37 


CHAPTER   XVI 


CONCLUDING    REMARKS 


I  HAVE  already  expressed  my  belief  that  the  simple  arts 
and  implements  have  been  independently  invented  by 
various  tribes,  at  different  times,  and  in  different  parts  of 
the  world.  Even  at  the  present  day,  we  may,  I  think, 
obtain  glimpses  of  the  manner  in  which  they  were,  or 
may  have  been,  invented.  Elephants  break  off  boughs 
to  use  as  fans  and  scrapers.  Monkeys  use  clubs,  and 
throw  sticks  and  stones  at  those  who  intrude  upon  them. 
Rengger  saw  a  monkey  take  a  stick  and  use  it  to  open 
the  lid  of  a  box,  and  this  has  since  been  confirmed  by  other 
observers.  They  also  use  round  stones  for  cracking  nuts, 
and  surely  a  very  small  step  would  lead  from  that  to  the 
application  of  a  sharp  stone  for  cutting.  When  the  edge 
became  blunt,  it  would  be  thrown  away,  and  another 
chosen  ;  but  after  awhile,  accident,  if  not  reflection,  would 
show  that  a  round  stone  would  crack  other  stones  as  well 
as  nuts,  and  thus  the  savage  would  learn  to  make  sharp- 
edged  stones  for  himself.  At  first,  as  we  see  in  the  drift 
specimens,  these  would  be  coarse  and  rough,  but 
gradually  the  pieces  chipped  off  would  become  smaller, 
the  blows  would  be  more  cautiously  and  thoughtfully 
given,  and  at  length  it  would  be  found  that  better  work 
might  be  done  by  pressure  than  by  blows.  From 
pressure  to  polishing  would  again  be  but  a  small  step. 
In  making  flint  implements,  sparks  would  be  produced  ; 
in  polishing  them,  it  would  not  fail  to  be  observed 
that   they   became    hot,   and    in    this   way   it   is    easy   to 

57^ 


FIRE— DWELLINGS— POTTERY         579 

see  how  the  two  methods  of  obtaining  fire  may  have 
originated.^ 

The  chimpanzee  builds  himself  a  house  or  resting- 
place  quite  equal  to  that  of  some  savages.  Our  earliest 
ancestors  therefore  may  have  had  this  art  ;  but  even  if 
not,  when  they  became  hunters,  and,  as  we  find  to  be  the 
case  with  all  hunting  tribes,  supplemented  the  ineflliciency 
of  their  weapons  by  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  the 
manners  and  customs  of  the  animals  on  which  they 
preyed,  they  could  not  fail  to  observe,  and  perhaps  to 
copy,  the  houses  which  various  species  of  animals 
construct  for  themselves. 

The  Esquimaux  have  no  pottery  ;  they  use  cup-shaped 
stones  as  a  substitute  ;  but  we  have  seen  how  they  some- 
times improve  upon  these  by  a  rim  of  clay.  To  extend 
this  rim,  diminish,  and  at  last  replace,  the  stone,  is  an 
obvious  process.  In  hotter  countries,  vessels  of  wood,  or 
the  shells  of  fruit,  such  as  cocoa-nuts  and  gourds,  are  used 
for  holding  liquids.  These  will  not  stand  fire,  but  in 
some  cases  by  plastering  them  on  the  outside  with  clay 
they  are  enabled  to  do  so.  There  is  some  evidence  that 
this  obvious  improvement  has  been  made  by  several 
separate  tribes  even  in  modern  times.  Other  similar 
cases  might  be  mentioned,  in  which  by  a  very  simple  and 
apparently  obvious  process,  an  important  improvement 
is  secured.  It  seems  very  improbable  that  any  such 
advantage  should  ever  be  lost  again.  There  is  no 
evidence,  says  Mr  Tylor,^  "  of  any  tribe  giving  up  the 
use  of  the  spindle  to  twist  their  thread  by  hand,  or 
having  been  in  the  habit  of  working  the  fire-drill  with  a 
thong,  and  going  back  to  the  clumsier  practice  of  working 
it  without,  and  it  is  even  hard  to  fancy  such  a  thing 
happening."  What  follows  from  this  argument  ?  Evi- 
dently that  the  lowest  races  of  existing  savages  must, 
always  assuming  the  common  origin   of  the  human  race, 

1  The  idea  of  using  fire  would  also  have  been  suggested  by  volcanoes,  by 
trees  set  on  fire  by  lightning,  and  by  the  natural  fires  which  occur  in  hot 
summers. 

-  L.C.,  p.  364. 


58o  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

be  at  least  as  far  advanced  as  were  our  ancestors  when 
they  spread  over  the  earth's  surface. 

What,  then,  must  have  been  their  condition  ?  They 
were  ignorant  of  pottery,  for  the  Esquimaux,  the 
Polynesians,  the  Australians,  some  North  and  South 
American  tribes,  and  many  other  savage  races,  have  none 
even  now,  or  at  least  had  none  until  quite  lately.  They 
had  no  bows  and  arrows,  for  these  weapons  were  unknown 
to  the  Australians  and  New  Zealanders  ;  their  boats  for 
the  same  reason  must  have  been  of  the  rudest  possible 
character  ;  they  were  naked,  and  ignorant  of  the  art  of 
spinning  ;  they  had  no  knowledge  of  agriculture,  and 
probably  no  domestic  animal  but  the  dog,  though  here 
the  argument  is  weaker,  inasmuch  as  experience  is  more 
portable  than  property.  It  is,  however,  probable  that  the 
dog  was  long  the  only  domesticated  animal.  Of  the 
more  unusual  weapons,  such  as  the  boomerang,  blow-pipe, 
bolas,  etc.,  they  were  certainly  ignorant.  The  sling  and 
the  throwing-stick  were  doubtless  unknown,  and  even 
the  shield,  as  it  is  only  used  in  war,  had  probably  not 
been  invented.  The  spear,  which  is  but  a  development 
of  the  knife-point,  and  the  club,  which  is  but  a  long 
hammer,  are  the  only  things  left  by  this  line  of  argument. 
They  seem  to  be  the  only  natural  and  universal  weapons 
of  man. 

We  might  be  disposed  to  wonder  how  man  was  at  first 
able  to  kill  game  ;  but  we  must  remember  that  if  man 
was  unskilful,  animals  were  unsuspicious.  The  tameness 
of  the  birds  on  uninhabited  islands  is  well  known  ;  the 
wariness  of  animals  and  the  skill  of  man  must  have 
increased  almost  pari  passu. 

The  same  argument  may  be  applied  to  the  mental 
condition  of  savages.  Our  earliest  ancestors  certainly 
could  not  have  counted  to  ten,  considering  that  so  many 
races  now  in  existence  cannot  get  beyond  four.  It  is 
probable  that  man  originated  in  a  warm  climate,  and  so 
long  as  he  was  confined  to  the  tropics  he  may  have  found 
a  succession  of  fruits,  and  have  lived  as  the  monkeys  do 
now.     Indeed,  according  to  Bates,  this  is   still  the  case 


OUR   EARLY  ANCESTORS  581 

with  some  of  the  Brazilian  Indians.  "The  monkeys," 
he  says,  "  lead  in  fact  a  life  similar  to  that  of  the  Pararauate 
Indians."  Directly,  however,  men  spread  into  temperate 
climates,  this  mode  of  life  would  become  impossible,  and 
they  would  be  compelled  to  seek  their  nourishment,  in 
part  at  least,  from  the  animal  kingdom.  Then,  if  not 
before,  the  knife  and  the  hammer  would  develop  into  the 
spear  and  the  club. 

It  is  too  often  supposed  that  the  world  was  peopled  by 
a  series  of  "  migrations."  But  migrations,  properly  so- 
called,  are  compatible  only  with  a  comparatively  high 
state  of  organization.  Moreover,  it  has  been  observed 
that  the  geographical  distribution  of  the  various  races  of 
man  curiously  coincides  with  that  of  other  races  of 
animals  :  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  he  originally 
crept  over  the  earth's  surface  little  by  little,  year  by 
year,  just,  for  instance,  as  the  weeds  of  Europe  are 
now  gradually  but  surely  creeping  over  the  surface  of 
Australia. 

The  preceding  argument  assumes,  of  course,  the  unity 
of  the  human  race.  It  would,  however,  be  impossible  for 
me  to  end  this  volume  without  saying  a  few  words  on 
this  great  question.  It  must  be  admitted  that  the  prin- 
cipal varieties  of  mankind  are  of  great  antiquity.  We 
find  on  some  of  the  earliest  Egyptian  monuments,  dating 
back  to  4000  B.C.,  three  distinct  types  :  the  Semitic  on  the 
east  and  west  of  Egypt,  the  Negro  on  the  south,  and 
the  Egyptian  type  occupying  a  middle  place  between  the 
two.  The  representations  of  the  monuments,  although 
somewhat  conventional,  are  extremely  characteristic.  The 
statue  of  Kephren,  the  third  king  of  the  fourth  dynasty, 
who  erected  the  second  of  the  great  pyramids  of  Gizeh, 
and  is  supposed  to  have  reigned  about  3900  b.c,  is  a 
real  masterpiece.  These  distinct  types  still  predominate 
in  Egypt  and  the  neighbouring  countries.  Thus,  then, 
says  Mr  Poole,  in  this  immense  interval  we  do  not  find 
"  the  least  change  in  the  Negro  or  the  Arab  ;  and  even 
the  type  which  seems  to  be  intermediate  between  them 
is  virtually  as  unaltered.    Those  who  consider  that  length 


582  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

of  time  can  change  a  type  of  man,  will  do  well  to  consider 
the  fact  that  three  thousand  years  give  no  ratio  on  which 
a  calculation  could  be  founded."  ^  I  am,  however,  not 
aware  that  it  is  supposed  by  any  school  of  ethnologists 
that  "  time "  alone,  without  a  change  of  external  con- 
ditions, will  produce  an  alteration  of  type.  Let  us  now 
turn  to  the  instances  relied  on  by  Mr  Crawfurd.^  "  The 
millions,"  he  says,  "  of  African  Negroes  that  have  during 
three  centuries  been  transported  to  the  New  World  and 
its  islands,  are  the  same  in  colour  as  the  present  in- 
habitants of  the  parent  country  of  their  forefathers.  The 
Creole  Spaniards,  who  have  for  at  least  as  long  a  time 
been  settled  in  tropical  America,  are  as  fair  as  the  people 
of  Arragon  and  Andalusia,  with  the  same  variety  of 
colour  in  the  hair  and  eye  as  their  progenitors.  The 
pure  Dutch  Creole  colonists  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
after  dwelling  two  centuries  among  black  Kaffirs  and 
yellow  Hottentots,  do  not  differ  in  colour  from  the 
people  of  Holland."  Here,  on  the  contrary,  we  have 
great  change  of  circumstances,  but  a  very  insufficient 
lapse  of  time,  and  in  fact  there  is  no  well-authenticated 
case  in  which  these  two  requisites  are  united.  But  Mr 
Crawfurd  went,  I  think,  too  far,  when  he  denied  altogether 
any  change  of  type.  In  spite  of  the  comparatively  short 
time  which  has  elapsed,  and  of  the  immense  immigra- 
tion which  has  been  kept  up,  there  is  already  a  marked 
difference  between  the  English  of  Europe  and  those  of 
America  ;  and  it  would  be  desirable  to  inquire  whether, 
in  their  own  eyes,  the  Negroes  of  the  New  World  exactly 
resemble  those  of  Africa. 

But  there  are  some  reasons  which  make  it  probable 
that  changes  of  external  condition,  or  rather  of  country, 
produce  less  effect  now  than  was  formerly  the  case.  At 
present,  when  men  migrate  they  carry  with  them  the 
manners  and  appliances  of  civilized  life.  They  build 
houses  more  or  less  like  those  to  which  they  have  been 
accustomed,  carry  with  them   flocks  and  herds,  and  intro- 

'  Poole,  Tra7is.  Ethn.  Soc,  New  Sen,  vol.  ii.  p.  261. 
^  Crawfurd,  Trans.  Ethn.  Soc,  New  Sen,  vol.  ii.  p.  252. 


CHANGE   OF   TYPE  583 

duce  into  their  new  country  the  principal  plants  which 
served  them  for  food  in  the  old.  If  their  new  abode  is 
cold,  they  increase  their  clothing  ;  if  warm,  they  diminish 
it.  In  these  and  a  hundred  other  ways  the  effect  which 
would  otherwise  be  produced  is  greatly  diminished. 

But,  as  we  have  seen,  this  has  not  always  been  the  case. 
When  man  first  spread  over  the  earth,  he  had  no  domestic 
animals,  perhaps  not  even  the  dog  ;  no  knowledge  of 
agriculture  :  his  weapons  were  of  the  rudest  character, 
and  his  houses  scarcely  worthy  of  the  name.  His  food, 
habits,  and  whole  manner  of  life  must  then  have  varied 
as  he  passed  from  one  country  to  another  ;  he  must  have 
been  far  more  subject  to  the  influence  of  external  circum- 
stances, and  in  all  probability  more  susceptible  of  change. 
Moreover,  his  form,  which  is  now  stereotyped  by  long 
ages  of  repetition,  may  reasonably  be  supposed  to  have 
been  itself  more  plastic  than  is  now  the  case. 

If  there  is  any  truth  in  this  view  of  the  subject,  it  will 
necessarily  follow  that  the  principal  varieties  of  man  are 
of  great  antiquity,  and  in  fact  go  back  almost  to  the  very 
origin  of  the  human  race.  We  may  then  cease  to  wonder 
that  the  earliest  paintings  on  Egyptian  tombs  represent 
so  accurately  several  varieties  still  existing  in  those 
regions,  and  that  the  Engis  skull,  one  of  .the  most 
ancient  yet  found  in  Europe,  so  closely  resembles  many 
that  may  be  seen  even  at  the  present  day. 

Slow  and  gradual  changes,  however,  still  take  place, 
although  his  "  mere  bodily  structure  "  long  ago  became 
of  less  importance  to  man  than  "  that  subtle  force  we 
term  mind."  This,  as  Mr  Wallace  eloquently  says, 
"  with  a  naked  and  unprotected  body,  this  gave  him 
clothing  against  the  varying  inclemencies  of  the  seasons. 
Though  unable  to  compete  with  the  deer  in  swiftness,  or 
with  the  wild  bull  in  strength,  this  gave  him  weapons 
wherewith  to  capture  or  overcome  both.  Though  less 
capable  than  most  other  animals  of  living  on  the  herbs 
and  the  fruits  that  unaided  nature  supplies,  this  wonderful 
faculty  taught  him  to  govern  and  direct  nature  to  his  own 
benefit,  and  make  her  produce  food  for  him  when  and 


584  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

where  he  pleased.  From  the  moment  when  the  first  skin 
was  used  as  a  covering,  when  the  first  rude  spear  was 
formed  to  assist  in  the  chase,  the  first  seed  sown  or  shoot 
planted,  a  grand  revolution  was  effected  in  nature,  a 
revolution  which  in  all  the  previous  ages  of  the  world's 
history  had  had  no  parallel,  for  a  being  had  arisen  who 
was  no  longer  necessarily  subject  to  change  with  the 
changing  universe, — a  being  who  was  in  some  degree 
superior  to  nature,  inasmuch  as  he  knew  how  to  control 
and  regulate  her  action,  and  could  keep  himself  in 
harmony  with  her,  not  by  a  change  in  body,  but  by  an 
advance  in  mind. 

"  Here,  then,  we  see  the  true  grandeur  and  dignity  of 
man.  On  this  view  of  his  special  attributes,  we  may 
admit  that  even  those  who  claim  for  him  a  position  and 
an  order,  a  class,  or  a  sub-kingdom  by  himself,  have  some 
reason  on  their  side.  He  is,  indeed,  a  being  apart,  since 
he  is  not  influenced  by  the  great  laws  which  irresistibly 
modify  all  other  organic  beings.  Nay,  more  :  this  victory 
which  he  has  gained  for  himself  gives  him  a  directing 
influence  over  other  existences.  Man  has  not  only 
escaped  '  natural  selection '  himself,  but  he  is  actually 
able  to  take  away  some  of  that  power  from  nature  which, 
before  his  appearance,  she  universally  exercised.  We  can 
anticipate  the  time  when  the  earth  will  produce  only 
cultivated  plants  and  domestic  animals  ;  when  man's 
selection  shall  have  supplanted  '  natural  selection '  ;  and 
when  the  ocean  will  be  the  only  domain  in  which  that 
power  can  be  exerted,  which  for  countless  cycles  of  ages 
ruled  supreme  over  the  earth." 

Thus,  then,  the  great  principle  of  Natural  Selection, 
which  is  to  biology  what  the  law  of  gravitation  is  for 
astronomy,  not  only  throws  an  unexpected  light  on  the 
past,  but  illuminates  the  future  with  hope  ;  nor  can  I  but 
feel  surprised  that  a  theory  which  thus  teaches  us  humility 
for  the  past,  faith  in  the  present,  and  hope  for  the  future, 
should  have  been  regarded  as  opposed  to  the  principles  of 
true  religion. 

I    say  of    hope   because   we    are,   I   think,  justified    in 


IMPROVING   CONDITIONS  585 

believing  that  the  happiness  of  man  is  on  the  increase. 
It  is  generally  admitted  that  if  any  animal  increases  in 
numbers,  it  must  be  because  the  conditions  are  becoming 
more  favourable  to  it — in  other  words,  because  it  is 
happier  and  more  comfortable.  Now  how  will  this  test 
apply  to  man  ? 

Schoolcraft  estimates  ^  that  in  a  population  which  lives 
on  the  produce  of  the  chase,  each  hunter  requires  on  an 
average  50,000  acres,  or  78  square  miles,  for  his  support. 
Again,  he  tells  us^  that,  excluding  Michigan  territory, 
west  of  Lake  Michigan,  and  north  of  Illinois,  there  were 
in  the  United  States  in  1825  about  97,000  Indians, 
occupying  77,000,000  of  acres,  or  120,312  square  miles. 
This  gives  one  inhabitant  to  every  i^  square  miles.  In 
this  case,  however,  the  Indians  lived  partly  on  the  subsidies 
granted  them  by  Government  in  exchange  for  land,  and 
the  population  was  therefore  greater  than  would  have 
been  the  case  if  they  had  lived  entirely  on  the  produce  of 
the  chase.  The  same  reason  affects,  though  to  a  smaller 
extent,  the  Indians  in  the  Hudson's  Bay  territory.  These 
tribes  were  estimated  by  Sir  George  Simpson,  late 
Governor  of  the  territories  belonging  to  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  in  his  evidence  given  before  the  Com- 
mittee of  the  House  of  Commons  in  1857,  at  139,000, 
and  the  extent  is  supposed  to  be  more  than  1,400,000 
square  miles,  to  which  we  must  add  13,000  more  for 
Vancouver's  Island,  making  a  total  of  more  than 
900,000,000  of  acres  ;  about  6500  acres,  or  10  square 
miles,  to  each  individual.  Again,  the  inhabitants  of 
Patagonia,  south  of  40°,  and  exclusive  of  Chiloe  and  Tierra 
del  Fuego,  are  estimated  by  Admiral  Fitzroy  at  less  than 
4000,  and  the  number  of  acres  is  176,640,000,  giving 
more  than  44,000  acres,  or  68  square  miles,  for  each 
person.  A  writer  in  the  Voice  of  Pity ^  however,  thinks  that 
their  numbers  may  perhaps  amount  to  14,000  or  15,000.^ 
It  would  be  difficult  to  form  any  census  of  the  aborigines 
in    Australia  ;    Mr  Oldfield    estimates  that    there  is  one 

'  Indian  Tribes,  vol.  i.  p.  433.  ^  L-c,  vol.  iii.  p.  575. 

3  /..c,  vol.  ii.  p.  93. 


586  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

native  to  every  50  square  miles  ;^  and  it  is  at  least 
evident,  that  since  the  introduction  of  civilization,  the 
total  population  of  that  continent  has  greatly  increased. 

Population,  indeed,  as  a  general  rule,  increases  with 
civilization.  Paraguay,  with  100,000  square  miles,  has 
from  300,000  to  ^00,000  inhabitants,  or  about  four  to  a 
square  mile.  The  uncivilized  parts  of  Mexico  contained 
374,000  inhabitants  in  675,000  square  miles  ;  while 
Mexico  proper,  with  833,600  square  miles,  had  6,691,000 
inhabitants.  Naples  had  more  than  183  inhabitants  to 
each  square  mile,  Venetia  more  than  200,  Lombardy  280, 
England  280,  Belgium  as  many  as  320. 

Finally,  we  cannot  but  observe  that,  under  civilization, 
the  means  of  subsistence  have  increased  even  more  rapidly 
than  the  population.  Far  from  suffering  for  want  of 
food,  the  more  densely  peopled  countries  are  exactly  those 
in  which  it  is,  not  only  absolutely,  but  even  relatively, 
most  abundant.  It  is  said  that  anyone  who  makes  two 
blades  of  grass  grow  where  one  grew  before,  is  a  benefactor 
to  the  human  race  ;  what,  then,  shall  we  say  of  that  which 
enables  a  thousand  men  to  live  in  plenty  where  one 
savage  could  scarcely  find  a  scanty  and  precarious  sub- 
sistence ? 

There  are,  indeed,  many  who  doubt  whether  happiness 
is  increased  by  civilization,  and  who  talk  of  the  free  and 
noble  savage.  But  the  true  savage  is  neither  free  nor 
noble  ;  he  is  a  slave  to  his  own  wants,  his  own  passions  ; 
imperfectly  protected  from  the  weather,  he  suffers  from 
the  cold  by  night  and  the  heat  of  the  sun  by  day  ; 
ignorant  of  agriculture,  living  by  the  chase,  and  improvi- 
dent in  success,  hunger  always  stares  him  in  the  face,  and 
often  drives  him  to  the  dreadful  alternative  of  cannibalism 
or  death. 

Wild  animals  are  always  in  danger.  Sir  F.  Galton, 
who  is  so  well  qualified  to  form  an  opinion,  believes  that 
the  life  of  all  beasts  in  their  wild  state  is  an  exceedingly 
anxious  one  ;  that  "  every  antelope  in  South  Africa  has 
literally  to  run  for  its  life  once  in  every  one  or  two  days 
^  Trans.  Ethn.  Soc,  New  Ser.,  vol.  iii.  p.  220. 


LIFE   OF   THE   SAVAGE  587 

upon  an  average,  and  that  he  starts  or  gallops  under  the 
influence  of  a  false  alarm  many  times  in  a  day."  *  So  it  is 
with  the  savage,  he  is  always  suspicious,  always  in  danger, 
always  on  the  watch.  He  can  depend  on  no  one,  and  no 
one  can  depend  upon  him.  He  expects  nothing  from  his 
neighbour,  and  does  unto  others  as  he  believes  that  they 
would  do  unto  him.  Thus  his  life  is  one  prolonged  scene 
of  selfishness  and  fear.  Even  in  his  religion,  if  he  has 
any,  he  creates  for  himself  a  new  source  of  terror,  and 
peoples  the  world  with  invisible  enemies.  The  position 
of  the  female  savage  is  even  more  wretched  than  that  of 
her  master.  She  not  only  shares  his  suff^erings,  but  has 
to  bear  his  ill-humour  and  ill-usage.  She  may  truly  be 
said  to  be  "  little  better  than  his  dog,  little  dearer  than  his 
horse."  In  Australia  Mr  Oldfield  never  saw  a  woman's 
grave,  and  does  not  think  that  the  natives  took  the  trouble 
to  bury  them.  But,  indeed,  he  believes  that  few  of  them 
are  so  fortunate  as  to  die  a  natural  death,  "  they  being 
generally  despatched  ere  they  become  old  and  emaciated, 
that  so  much  good  food  may  not  be  lost.  ...  In  fine, 
so  little  importance  is  attached  to  them,  either  before  or 
after  death,  that  it  may  be  doubted  whether  the  man  does 
not  value  his  dog,  when  alive,  quite  as  much  as  he  does 
his  woman,  and  think  of  both  quite  as  often  and  lovingly 
after  he  has  eaten  them."  ^ 

Not  content,  moreover,  with  those  incident  to  their 
mode  of  life,  savages  appear  to  take  a  melancholy  pleasure 
in  self-inflicted  sufferings.  Besides  the  very  general 
practice  of  tattooing,  the  most  extraordinary  methods  of 
disfigurement  and  self-torture  are  adopted  ;  some  cut  off 
the  little  finger,  some  make  an  immense  hole  in  the 
underlip,  or  pierce  the  cartilage  of  the  nose.  The  Easter 
Islanders  enlarge  their  ears  till  they  come  down  to  their 
shoulders  ;  the  Chinooks,  and  many  other  American  tribes, 
alter  the  shape  of  their  heads.  Some  of  the  African 
tribes  chip  their  teeth  in  various  manners,  each  community 
having  a  fashion  of  its  own.     The  Nyambanas,  a  division 

'   Trans.  Ethtt.  Soc,  New  Sen,  vol.  iii.  p.  133. 
2  Trans.  Ethn.  Soc,  New  Ser.,  vol.  iii.  p.  248. 


588  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

of  the  Kaffirs,  are  characterized  by  a  row  of  artificial 
pimples  or  warts,  about  the  size  of  a  pea,  and  extending 
from  the  upper  part  of  the  forehead  to  the  tip  of  the  nose. 
Of  these  they  are  very  proud. -^  Among  the  Bachapins, 
those  who  have  distinguished  themselves  in  battle  are 
allowed  the  privilege  of  marking  "  their  thigh  with  a  long 
scar,  which  is  rendered  indelible  and  of  a  bluish  colour  by 
means  of  wood  ashes  rubbed  into  the  fresh  wound."  ^  In 
Australia,  Captain  King  saw  a  native  ornamented  with 
horizontal  scars  which  extended  across  the  upper  part  of 
the  chest.  They  were  at  least  an  inch  in  diameter,  and 
protruded  half  an  inch  from  the  body.^  In  some  parts  of 
Australia,  and  in  Tasmania,  all  the  men  have  a  tooth 
knocked  out  in  a  very  clumsy  and  painful  manner.* 
"  The  inhabitants  of  Tana  have  on  their  arms  and  bellies 
elevated  scars,  representing  plants,  flowers,  stars,  and  various 
other  figures.  They  are  made  by  first  cutting  the  skin  with 
a  sharp  bamboo  reed,  and  then  applying  a  certain  plant  to 
the  wound,  which  raises  the  scar  above  the  rest  of  the 
skin.  The  inhabitants  of  Tazavan,  or  Formosa,  by  a 
very  painful  operation,  impress  on  their  naked  skins  various 
figures  of  trees,  flowers,  and  animals.  The  great  men  in 
Guinea  have  their  skin  flowered  like  damask  ;  and  in  the 
Deccan  the  women  likewise  have  flowers  cut  into  their 
flesh,  on  the  forehead,  the  arms,  and  the  breast,  and  the 
elevated  scars  are  painted  in  colours,  and  exhibit  the 
appearance  of  flowered  damask."  ^  The  native  women  in 
New  South  Wales  used  to  tie  a  string  tightly  round  the 
little  finger,  and  wear  it  until  the  finger  rotted  ofl\  Few 
of  them  escaped  the  painful  experience.^  The  American 
Indians  also  inflicted  the  most  horrible  tortures  upon  them- 
selves.^ In  many  cases  the  boys,  on  arriving  at  maturity, 
are  subjected  to  ordeals  which  must  involve  great  sufl^ering. 

'   United  States  Exploring  Expedition,  vol.  i.  p.  63. 

2  Burchell,  I.e.,  vol.  ii.  pp.  478,  535. 

^  Narrative  of  a  Survey  of  the  Intertropical  and  Western  Coasts  oj 
Australia,  p.  42.     See  also  Eyre's  account,  quoted  in  p.  449. 

■*  Freycinet,  vol.  ii.  p.  705.  ^  Forster,  I.e.,  p.  588. 

6  D'Urville,  vol.  i.  p.  406. 

"  See,  for  instance,  Catlin's  North  Atnerica?i  Indians,  vol.  i.  p.  170  ; 
Azara,  vol.  ii.  p.  136. 


EFFECTS   OF   CIVILIZATION  589 

These  and  many  other  curious  practices  are  none  the  less 
painful  because  they  are  voluntary. 

If  we  turn  to  the  bright  side  of  the  question,  the  whole 
analogy  of  nature  justifies  us  in  concluding  that  the 
pleasures  of  civilized  man  are  greater  than  those  of  the 
savage.  As  we  descend  in  the  scale  of  organization,  we 
find  that  animals  become  more  and  more  vegetative  in  their 
characteristics  ;  with  less  susceptibility  to  pain,  and  conse- 
quently less  capacity  for  happiness.  It  may,  indeed,  be 
doubted  whether  some  of  those  beings,  which  from  their 
anatomy  we  are  compelled  to  class  as  animals,  have  much 
more  consciousness  of  enjoyment,  or  even  of  existence,  than 
a  tree  or  a  sea-weed.  But  even  to  animals  which  possess 
a  clearly  defined  nervous  system,  we  must  ascribe  very 
different  degrees  of  sensibility.  The  study  of  the  sensory 
organs  in  the  lower  animals  offers  great  difficulties  ;  but 
at  least  we  know  that  they  are,  in  many  cases,  few  in 
number,  and  capable  of  conveying  only  general  impressions. 
Everyone  will  admit  that  the  possession  of  a  new  sense, 
or  the  improvement  of  an  old  one,  is  a  fresh  source  of 
possible  happiness  ;  but  how,  it  may  be  asked,  does  this 
affect  the  present  question  ?  There  are  no  just  grounds 
for  expecting  man  to  be  ever  endued  with  a  sixth  sense  ; 
so  far  from  being  able  to  improve  the  organization  of  the 
eye  or  the  ear,  we  cannot  make  one  hair  black  or  white, 
nor  add  one  cubit  to  our  stature.  But,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  invention  of  the  telescope  and  microscope  is  equivalent 
in  its  results  to  an  immense  improvement  of  the  eye,  and 
opens  up  to  us  new  worlds,  fresh  sources  of  interest  and 
happiness.  Again,  we  cannot  alter  the  physical  structure 
of  the  ear  :  but  we  can  train  it,  we  can  invent  new  musical 
instruments,  compose  new  melodies.  The  music  of 
savages  is  rude  and  melancholy  in  comparison  with  ours  ; 
and  thus,  though  the  ear  of  man  may  not  have  appreciably 
altered,  the  pleasure  which  we  may  derive  from  it  has 
been  immensely  increased.  Moreover,  the  savage  is  like 
a  child  who  sees  and  hears  only  that  which  is  brought 
directly  before  him,  but  the  civilized  man  questions  nature, 
and  by  the  various  processes  of  chemistry,  by  electricity. 


590  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

and  magnetism,  by  a  thousand  ingenious  contrivances, 
he  forces  nature  to  throw  light  upon  herself,  discovers 
hidden  uses  and  unsuspected  beauties,  almost  as  if  he 
were  endowed  with  some  entirely  new  organ  of  sense. 

The  love  of  travel  is  deeply  implanted  in  the  human 
breast ;  it  is  an  immense  pleasure  to  visit  other  countries, 
and  see  new  races  of  men.  Again,  the  discovery  of 
printing  brings  all  who  choose  into  communion  with  the 
greatest  minds.  The  thoughts  of  a  Shakespeare  or  a 
Tennyson,  the  discoveries  of  a  Newton  or  a  Darwin, 
become  thus  the  common  property  of  mankind.  Already 
the  results  of  this  all-important  though  simple  process 
have  been  equivalent  to  an  immense  improvement  of  our 
mental  faculties  ;  and  day  by  day,  as  books  become 
cheaper,  schools  are  established,  and  education  is  im- 
proved, a  greater  and  greater  effect  will  be  produced. 

The  well-known  proverb  against  looking  a  gift-horse 
in  the  mouth  does  not  apply  to  the  gifts  of  nature  ;  they 
will  bear  the  closest  inspection,  and  the  more  we  examine, 
the  more  we  shall  find  to  admire.  Nor  are  these  new 
sources  of  happiness  accompanied  by  any  new  liability 
to  suffering  ;  on  the  contrary,  while  our  pleasures  are 
increased,  our  pains  are  lessened  ;  in  a  thousand  ways  we 
can  avoid  or  diminish  evils  which  to  our  ancestors  were 
great  and  inevitable.  How  much  misery,  for  instance, 
has  been  spared  to  the  human  race  by  the  single  discovery 
of  chloroform  ?  The  capacity  for  pain,  so  far  as  it  can 
serve  as  a  warning,  remains  in  full  force,  but  the  necessity 
for  endurance  has  been  greatly  diminished.  With  in- 
creased knowledge  of,  and  attention  to,  the  laws  of 
health,  disease  will  become  less  and  less  frequent.  Those 
tendencies  thereto  which  we  have  derived  from  our 
ancestors  will  gradually  die  out  ;  and  if  fresh  seeds  are 
not  sown,  our  race  may  one  day  enjoy  the  inestimable 
advantages  of  health. 

Thus,  then,  with  the  increasing  influence  of  science, 
we  may  confidently  look  to  a  great  improvement  in  the 
condition  of  man.  But  it  may  be  said  that  our  present 
sufferings  and  sorrows  arise  principally  from  sin,  and  that 


SCIENCE  AND   RELIGION  591 

any  moral  improvement  must  be  due  to  religion,  not  to 
science.  This  separation  of  the  two  mighty  agents  of 
improvement  is  the  great  misfortune  of  humanity,  and 
has  done  more  than  anything  else  to  retard  the  progress 
of  civilization.  But  even  if  for  the  moment  we  admit 
that  science  will  not  render  us  more  virtuous,  it  must 
certainly  make  us  more  innocent.  Out  of  164,000  persons 
committed  to  prison  in  England  and  Wales,  only  4000 
could  read  and  write  well.  In  fact,  our  criminal  popula- 
tion are  mere  savages,  and  most  of  their  crimes  are  but 
injudicious  and  desperate  attempts  to  live  as  a  savage  in 
the  midst,  and  at  the  expense,  of  a  civilized  community. 

Men  do  not  sin  for  the  sake  of  sinning  ;  they  yield 
to  temptation.  Most  of  our  sufferings  arise  from  a  mis- 
taken pursuit  of  pleasure  ;  from  a  misapprehension  of 
that  which  constitutes  true  happiness.  Men  do  wrong 
either  from  ignorance  or  in  the  hope,  unexpressed  perhaps 
even  to  themselves,  that  they  may  enjoy  the  pleasure, 
and  yet  avoid  the  penalty,  of  sin.  In  this  respect  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  religious  teaching  is  much  mis- 
apprehended. Repentance  is  too  often  regarded  as  a 
substitute  for  punishment.  Sin,  it  is  thought,  is  followed 
either  by  the  one  or  the  other.  So  far,  however,  as  our 
world  is  concerned,  this  is  not  the  case  ;  repentance  may 
enable  a  man  to  avoid  sin  in  future,  but  has  no  effect  on 
the  consequences  of  the  past.  The  laws  of  nature  are 
just  and  salutary,  but  they  are  also  inexorable.  All  men 
admit  that  "  the  wages  of  sin  is  death  "  ;  but  they  seem 
to  think  that  this  is  a  general  rule  to  which  there  may  be 
many  exceptions — that  some  sins  may  possibly  tend  to 
happiness — that  some  thorns  may  grow  grapes,  some 
thistles  produce  figs.  That  suffering  is  the  inevitable 
consequence  of  sin,  as  surely  as  night  follows  day,  is, 
however,  the  stern  yet  salutary  teaching  of  science.  And 
surely  if  this  lesson  were  thoroughly  impressed  upon  our 
minds,  if  we  really  believed  in  the  certainty  of  punishment, 
and  that  sin  could  not  conduce  to  happiness,  temptation, 
which  is  at  the  very  root  of  crime,  would  be  cut  away, 
and  mankind  must  necessarily  become  more  innocent. 


592  PREHISTORIC   TIMES 

May  we  not,  however,  go  even  farther  than  this,  and 
say  that  science  will  also  render  man  more  virtuous  ? 
'To  pass  our  time,"  says  Lord  Brougham,^  "in  the 
study  of  the  sciences,  in  learning  what  others  have  dis- 
covered, and  in  extending  the  bounds  of  human  knowledge, 
has,  in  all  ages,  been  reckoned  the  most  dignified  and 
happy  of  human  occupations.  .  .  ,  No  man  until  he  has 
studied  philosophy  can  have  a  just  idea  of  the  great 
things  for  which  Providence  has  fitted  his  understanding, 
the  extraordinary  disproportion  which  there  is  between 
his  natural  strength  and  the  powers  of  his  mind,  and  the 
force  he  derives  from  them."  Finally  he  concludes  that 
science  would  not  only  "  make  our  lives  more  agreeable, 
but  better  ;  and  that  a  rational  being  is  bound,  by  every 
motive  of  interest  and  duty,  to  direct  his  mind  towards 
pursuits  which  are  found  to  be  the  sure  path  of  virtue  as 
well  as  of  happiness." 

We  are  in  reality  but  on  the  threshold  of  civilization. 
Far  from  showing  any  indication  of  having  come  to  an 
end,  the  tendency  to  improvement  seems  latterly  to  have 
proceeded  with  augmented  impetus  and  accelerated 
rapidity.  Why,  then,  should  we  suppose  that  it  must 
now  cease  ?  Man  has  surely  not  reached  the  limits  of 
his  intellectual  development,  and  it  is  certain  that  he  has 
not  exhausted  the  infinite  capabilities  of  nature.  There 
are  many  things  which  are  not  as  yet  dreamt  of  in  our 
philosophy  ;  many  discoveries  which  will  immortalize 
those  who  make  them,  and  confer  upon  the  human  race 
advantages  which  as  yet,  perhaps,  we  are  not  in  a  con- 
dition to  appreciate.  We  may  still  say  with  our  great 
countryman,  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  that  we  have  been  but 
like  children  playing  on  the  seashore,  and  picking  up 
here  and  there  a  smoother  pebble  or  a  prettier  shell  than 
ordinary,  while  the  great  ocean  of  truth  lies  all  undis- 
covered before  us. 

Thus,  then,  the  most  sanguine  hopes  for  the  future 
are  justified  by  the  whole  experience  of  the  past.  It  is 
surely  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  a  process  which  has 
'  Objects,  Advantages,  and  J''leasures  of  Science,  p.  39. 


PROGRESS   OF   CIVILIZATION  593 

been  going  on  for  so  many  thousand  years  should  have 
now  suddenly  ceased  ;  and  he  must  be  blind  indeed  who 
imagines  that  our  civilization  is  unsusceptible  of  im- 
provement, or  that  we  ourselves  are  in  the  highest  state 
attainable  by  man. 

If  we  turn  from  experience  to  theory,  the  same  con- 
clusion forces  itself  upon  us.  The  great  principle  of 
natural  selection  which  in  animals  afFects  the  body  and 
seems  to  have  little  influence  on  the  mind,  in  man  affects 
the  mind  and  has  little  influence  on  the  body.  In  the 
first,  it  tends  mainly  to  the  preservation  of  life  ;  in  the 
second,  to  the  improvement  of  the  mind,  and  consequently 
to  the  increase  of  happiness.  It  ensures,  in  the  words  of 
Mr  Herbert  Spencer,  "a  constant  progress  towards  a 
higher  degree  of  skill,  intelligence,  and  self-regulation — 
a  better  co-ordination  of  actions — a  more  complete  life."  ^ 
Even  those,  however,  who  are  dissatisfied  with  the  reason- 
ing of  Mr  Darwin,  and  believe  that  neither  our  mental 
nor  our  material  organization  is  susceptible  of  any  con- 
siderable change,  may  still  look  forward  to  the  future 
with  hope.  The  tendency  of  recent  improvements  and 
discoveries  is  less  to  effect  any  rapid  change  in  man 
himself  than  to  bring  him  into  harmony  with  nature  ; 
less  to  confer  upon  him  new  powers  than  to  teach  him 
how  to  apply  the  old. 

It  will,  I  think,  be  admitted  that  of  the  evils  under 
which  we  suffer,  nearly  all  may  be  attributed  either  to 
ignorance  or  sin.  That  ignorance  will  be  diminished  by 
the  progress  of  science  is,  of  course,  self-evident  ;  that 
the  same  will  be  the  case  with  sin,  seems  little  less  so. 
Thus,  then,  both  theory  and  experience  point  to  the  same 
conclusion.  The  future  happiness  of  our  race,  which 
poets  hardly  ventured  to  hope  for,  science  boldly  predicts. 
Utopia,  which  we  have  long  looked  upon  as  synonymous 
with  an  evident  impossibility  which  we  have  ungratefully 
regarded  as  "  too  good  to  be  true,"  turns  out,  on  the 
contrary,  to  be  the  necessary  consequence  of  natural  laws, 

'  Herbert  Spencer,  A  Theofy  of  Population  deduced  from  the  General 
Law  of  Animal  Feftilify,  p.  34. 

38 


594  PREHISTORIC  TIMES 

and  once  more  we  find  that  the  simple  truth  exceeds  the 
most  brilliant  flights  of  the  imagination. 

Even  in  our  own  time  we  may  hope  to  see  some  im- 
provement ;  but  the  unselfish  mind  will  find  its  highest 
gratification  in  the  belief  that,  whatever  may  be  the  case 
with  ourselves,  our  descendants  will  understand  many 
things  which  are  hidden  from  us  now,  will  better  appreciate 
the  beautiful  world  in  which  we  live,  avoid  much  of  that 
suffering  to  which  we  are  subject,  enjoy  many  blessings 
of  which  we  are  not  yet  worthy,  and  escape  many  of 
those  temptations  which  we  deplore  but  cannot  wholly 
resist. 


APPENDIX 

RUNES    {Page  14) 

We  do  not  yet  know  at  what  time  the  use  of  Runes  commenced. 
The  examples  found  at  Thorsbjerg  and  Nydam  carry  them  back 
to  the  second  or  third  century,  but  they  may  have  begun  much 
earlier.  They  remained  partially  in  use  in  out-of-the-way 
districts  of  Scandinavia  down  to  the  close  of  the  last  century. 
Runic  monuments  occur  in  Norway,  Sweden,  Denmark,  England, 
and,  though  rarely,  in  Ireland  ;  but  are  more  abundant  in  Sweden 
than  anywhere  else.  Professor  Stephens  ^  states  that  there  are 
three  times  as  many  in  Sweden  as  in  all  other  northern  countries 
together,  and  he  estimates  the  total  number  in  Sweden  at  not  less 
than  two  thousand. 

The  Runic  Alphabet,  or  Futhorc,  is  as  follows  : 

^'  h.  l>-  ^.  fc.  V.    *.  K.  I.  A.  '•  4.  I.  h.  V.      k. 

F  U  th  O  R   K  H  N  I  A  S  T  B  L  M  (CE,  Y) 

There  are,  however,  several  varieties ;  thus  ^^  sometimes 
stands  for  «,  \^  for  «,  Ij,  for  i,  ^_  for  /,  /[.  for  d^  and  {  for  e.  There 
is  also  a  class  of  letters  known  as  tree-runes,  which  are  entirely 
unlike  the  rest.  The  letters  given  above  are  those  generally  used 
in  the  engravings  on  stones  in  the  great  tumulus  known  as 
Maeshowe,  near  the  Stones  of  Stennis,  in  the  Orkneys,'^  and  are 
supposed  to  have  been  the  work  of  a  party  of  Northmen  who 
broke  into  the  Howe  in  the  ninth  century.  The  numerous 
variations  in  the  forms  of  the  letters,  and  the  fact  that  they  are 
sometimes  read  from  left  to  right,  sometimes  from  right  to  left, 
make  them  at  times  somewhat  difficult  to  decipher  ;  but  it 
fortunately  happens  that  we  possess  no  less  than  sixty-one  Runic 
Futhorcs,  so  that  any  inscription  which  is  at  all  perfect,  and  not 
too  much  abbreviated,  can  be  read  with  tolerable  certainty. 

^   The  Old-Norther-n  Runic  Mofunncn/s  of  Scandinavia^  p.  134. 
^  MaesJiotve^  by  J.  Farrar,  Esq.,  M.P. 

595 


596 


PREHISTORIC  TIMES 


OGHAMS 

The  origin  of  the  Ogham  alphabet  is  as  uncertain  as  that  of 
the  Runic.  While,  however,  the  Runes  occur  principally  in 
Scandinavia,  and  but  rarely  in   Great  Britain,  Oghams,  on  the 


\-> 


m 


\Mh 


Figs.  282,  283. — Ogham  stones. 

other  hand,  have  their  headquarters  in  Ireland,  though  some  few 
have  been  discovered  in  Scotland,  and  even  in  Shetland.  They 
are  generally  intended  to  be  read  from  below  upwards,  and  the 
letters  consist  of  mere  straight  strokes,  arranged  in  groups  along 
a  line.  This  line  is  very  often  the  edge  of  the  stone,  but  some- 
times a  line  is  cut.      In  other  cases,  an  imaginary  line  is  supposed 


OGHAMS— STAIGUE   FORT  597 

to  run  through  the  inscription.  Short  lines,  or  notches,  stand  for 
the  vowels,  o,  «,  «,  ^,  /,  one  notch  denoting  o,  two  o,  three  m,  and 
so  on.  Lines  on  the  left  of  the  base  line  stand  for  />,  l^f^  j,  and  «, 
according  as  they  are  i,  2,  3,  4,  or  5  in  number  ;  lines  on  the 
right  of  the  base  line  stand  in  the  same  manner  for  A,  </,  /,  c,  and  q  ; 
while  those  crossing  the  line  denote  w,  g^  ng^  $t^  or  z,  and  r. 
There  are  some  few  other  characters,  which,  however,  seldom 
occur. 

Almost  all  the  Ogham  inscriptions  which  have  yet  been  read 
are  mere  patronymics,  containing  the  name  of  the  person  in 
whose  honour  the  stone  was  erected.  Thus  the  above  figure 
(fig.  282)  of  an  Ogham  stone  found  in  Kerry  reads  thus  :  Nocati 
maqi  maqi  ret(ti),  i.e.  (The  Stone)  of  Nocat,  the  son  of  Macreith  ; 
the  inscription  on  fig.  283  is,  Maqi  Mucoi  Uddami,  i.e.  (The 
Stone)  of  Uddam  Mac  Mucoi. 

Page  51 

Staigue  Fort,  in  the  county  of  Kerry,  is  "  an  enclosure,  nearly 
circular,  114  feet  in  diameter,  88  feet  from  east  to  west,  and  87 
from  north  to  south.  The  stones  are  put  together  without  any 
description  of  mortar  or  cement  ;  the  wall  is  13  feet  thick  at  the 
bottom,  and  5  feet  2  inches  broad  at  top  at  the  highest  part, 
where  some  of  the  old  coping-stones  still  remain,  and  which  is 
there  17  feet  6  inches  high  upon  the  inside.  It  has  one  square 
doorway  in  the  S.S.W.  side,  5  feet  9  inches  high,  with  sloping 
sides,  4  feet  2  inches  wide  at  top,  and  5  feet  at  bottom.  In  the 
substance  of  this  massive  wall,  and  opening  inwards,  are  two  small 
chambers  ;  the  one  on  the  west  side  is  1 2  feet  long,  4  feet 
7  inches  wide,  and  6  feet  6  inches  high  ;  the  northern  chamber 
is  7  feet  4  inches  long,  4  feet  9  inches  wide,  and  7  feet  high. 
They  formed  a  part  of  the  original  plan,  and  were  not,  like  other 
apertures  in  some  similar  structures,  filled-up  gateways.  Around 
the  interior  of  the  wall  are  arranged  ten  sets  of  stairs,  .  .  .  the 
highest  reaching  very  nearly  to  the  full  height  of  the  wall,  and 
the  secondary  flights  being  about  half  that  much  ;  each  step  is 
2  feet  wide  ;  and  the  lower  flights  project  within  the  circle  of 
the  higher.  They  lead  to  narrow  platforms,  from  8  to  43  feet 
in  length,  on  which  its  wardens  or  defenders  stood."  [Catalogue 
of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy.^  p.  120.) 


INDEX 


Aarhuus,  55,  105, 

Abbeville,  21,  22,  182,  340,  343,  346, 
351,  361,  362,  375,  380. 

Abbot's  Langley,  345. 

Abbott,  Dr,  279,  396. 

Abercromby,  Hon.  J.,  71,  169. 

Abermaier,  Dr,  420, 

Abipones,  526,  555,  558,  566,  567,  572. 

Abury,  vide  Avebury. 

Abydos,  tombs  of,  7. 

Abyssinia,  428,  561. 

Acerotherium,  425. 

Acheuleenne  period,  419  ;  vide  also  St 
Acheul. 

Adam's  County,  Oliio,  270. 

Adams,  Dr,  283  ;  Mr  A.  L. ,  286. 

Adhemar,  M.,  306,  402,  403,  404,  405, 
406,  411,  412,  413. 

Adour,  378,  414. 

Adowa,  428. 

Adze,  flint,  80,  246,  456,  471  ;  New 
Zealand,  96,  464. 

^gean  Sea,  71. 

Aeppli,  M.,  180. 

/Ethelwolde's  Beorgh,  124. 

Africa,  3,  6,  28,  62,  86,  106,  109,  131, 
143.  207,  321,  386,  430,  539,  560, 
573:  574,  576,  586;  Central,  117, 
557.  570,  571  ;  East,  559,  576  ; 
North,  301  ;  South,  432,  586,  vide 
also  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

African,  axe,  29,  90  ;  bracelet,  48,  53  ; 
natives,  vide  Bushmen,  Hottentot, 
Kaflir. 

Agassiz,  278. 

Agates,  348, 

Agriculture,  542,  544  ff.,  580,  583;  of 
American  Indians,  263,  273  ff.  ;  of 
cave-dwellers,  330,  543  ;  of  Fijians, 
457  ;  of  shell-mound  builders,  233, 
244  ;  of  lake-villagers,  217,  219  ;  of 
Paraguay,  526  ;  of  Tahiti,  526. 

Aguilots,  526. 

Alabama,  273. 

Alactagajacuhis,  293,  302. 

Albano,  58. 


Albertus  Magnus,  212. 

Alca  itiipennis,  235. 

Aldus  M'Galdus,  92. 

Aleutian  Islands,  115,  551. 

Alfrede's  Beorh,  124. 

Algeria,  106,  138,  347. 

Algonquins,  252,  517,  557,  562,  575. 

Alleghany  Mountains,  78. 

Allen,  Mr,  301. 

Allerston  Warren,  153. 

Alligator  animal  mound,  269. 

Alloys,  4,  23. 

Alphabets,  Ogham,  596  ;  Runic,  595  ; 
none  in  N.  America,  271,  272. 

Alps,  202. 

Altacapas,  514. 

Altai  Mountains,  331. 

Altamira  cave,  281,  292,  299,  300,  328. 

Amasis,  56. 

Amazon,  117,  568. 

Amber,  25,  27,  54,  69,  77,  153,  196. 

America,  Central,  78,  251,  263,  455, 
558.  North,  77,  78,  85,  94,  loi, 
106,  250  ff.,  302,  558,  574,  576: 
animals,  212,  290,  294,  295  ;  burial, 
117,  264,  265  ;  fortifications,  257, 
258  ;  Indians,  vide  Indian,  N.  Ameri- 
can ;  mammoth  in,  285  ;  submersion 
of,  399,  405.  South,  305,  430,  527, 
568,  576  ;  lake-dwellings  in,  183. 

Amiens,  341,  346,  351,  364,  373,  375, 
380. 

Amravati,  137. 

Anas  boschas,  205  ;  querqtiedma,  205. 

Andaman  Islanders,  3,  386,  431,  439  ff., 
540,  544 ff.,  553,  558,  569,  570. 

Anderson,  Mr  J.,  298. 

Andrews,  Dr,  279. 

Angas,  G.  F. ,  448. 

Angerstein,  Mr,  78. 

Anglesea,  60. 

Anglo-Saxon,  interments,  161  ;  period, 
171. 

Anholt,  104. 

Animal,  domesticated,  174,  178  ;  ex- 
cavations, 269  ;   mounds,  267  ;  qua- 


598 


INDEX 


599 


ternary,    280  ff.  ;    remains    at   lake- 
villages,    199   ff.  ;    in   Kjokkenmod- 
dings,  234  ff.  ;  tumuli,  i74fF.  ;  sacri- 
ficed, I74ff. 
Anser  se^etum,  205. 
Anson,  G.  A.,  543. 
Antarctic  glaciers,  405f.,  412. 
Antilope  saiga,   293,  328,  331  ;   rupi- 

capra,  203. 
Antillean  continent,  4CX). 
Antiquity,    of    Bronze   Age,    390 ;    of 
man,  350,  383  ff.  :  evidence  of  ethno- 
It^..  385  ;  of  geology,  391  ff.,  417  ; 
of  Miocene  beds,  425  ;  of  vegetation, 
387. 
Antoninus,  wall  of,  21. 
Anvils,  bronze,  18. 
Apples   found    in  lake-dwellings,    217, 

218. 
Aquilafulva,  204  ;  halcetits,  204. 
Arabia,  121,  386. 
Arabs,  204,  429,  538,  581. 
Araucanians,  531. 
Arbor   Low,    finds  at,   119,   149,   150, 

170, 
Arbors,  428. 
Arboussel,  572. 
Arcelin,  M.,  37. 
Archaeology,  link  between  geology  and 

history,  2. 
Archiac,  M.,  304,  367,  368. 
Architecture,  Bronze  Age,  58 ;  Buddhist, 
I37>   138  ;  early,  62  ff.  ;  lake-dwell- 
ings, 185. 
Arctic,  dwellings,  114;  Ocean,  398. 
Arctoniys  bobac,  293. 
Ardakillin,  184. 
Ardea  cinerea,  205. 
Ardoch,  21. 
Argyllshire,  172. 
Armlets,  70,  156. 
Armour,  10,  14,  529. 
Arms,  3,  9,  10,  II,   12,   142;  vide  also 
Arrows,  Axe,  Dagger,  Lance,  Sword. 
Arreton  Down,  31.  70. 
Arrows,    11,    13,    148,    544,   545,    546; 
bone,  325 ;  bronze,  18,  36,  47  ;  horn, 
499;  iron,  150,  251  ;  owners'  marks 
on,    13,    499;    stone,    15,     16,    17, 
74,  82,  84,  88,  92,  100  ff.,  130,  144, 
147,   150  ff.,   158,    178,   193  ff.,  251, 
252,  277,  310,   430,   498,  499,  518, 
540. 
Aru  Islands,  570. 
Arve,  380. 

Arvicola  gregaris,  293,  302. 
Ascherleben,  hut-urn  at,  59. 
Ashantee,  557. 
Ashby,  Mr,  157. 


Asia,  3,  106,  207,  212,  430;  Central, 
7  ;  megalithic  monuments  in,  108  ; 
North-East,  115. 

Ass,  3x5;  in  Bible,  206;  in  lake- 
dwellings,  205. 

Assiniboines,  517. 

Assyria,  27,  55,  340,  347,  385  ;  burial 
mound,  123  ;  iron  in,  8  ;  stone  im- 
plements found  in,  106. 

Atlantic,  submarine  river  beds  in,  414. 

Atwater,  Dr  C. ,  250,  265. 

Aube,  367. 

Aucas,  526, 

Auchnabreach  rock  sculptures,  172. 

Auk,  Great,  235. 

Aurignac,  caves  at,  314  ff. 

Aurillac,  relics  from,  425. 

Aurochs,  209  ff.,  236,  280  f.,  299  ff., 
315  f,  541  ;  distribution,  301  ;  genea- 
logy, 301  ;  period,  419. 

Australia,  432,  546;  language,  556, 
567;  natives,  430  f. ,  440  ff.,  461, 
539,  543  ff-,  550  f.,  553  f-,  573,  576, 
580,  585,  587,  588 ;  stone  imple- 
ments, 86,  87,   106. 

Austria,  26. 

Auvergne,  368. 

Auvernier,  47,  220. 

Avebury,  64,  109,  114,  119,  123,  126  ff., 

134,  179- 

Avena  sativa,  218. 

Avenues  of  earth,  26  ;  of  stone,  135. 

Avon,  290. 

Awl,  II,  542;  bone,  15,  103,  196,  325, 
519;  bronze,  47,  48,  54,  152,  153, 
155  ;  flint,  82,  98,  104,  105,  162, 
239,  322,  423  ;  horn,  15. 

Axe,  3,  II,  15,  547  ;  African,  29,  90  ; 
bronze,  l6ff.,  28  ff.,  68  ff.,  220,  224  ; 
copper,  4,  9,  68,  252,  432,  518  ;  iron, 
10,  II,  12,  14,  16,  224;  jade,  77; 
nephrite,  77  ;  saussurite,  77  ;  stone, 
15  ff.,  73  ff.,  80,  88  ff.,  104  f.,  126, 
158,  162  f.,  167,  173,  190  f.,  193, 
195,  211,  224,  230,  239  ff,  245  ft"., 
251  f.,  340,  345  f.,  349,  354  ff.,  361  f., 
419,  442,  471,  500,  540  f.,  550: 
perforated,  18,  74,  93,  155  f,,  178, 
251. 

Axe  handles  or  sockets,  15,  29,  89,  90, 
194,  196. 

Azara,  Don  Felix  de,  525  f.,  555,  568. 

Aztalan  in  Wisconsin,  261  f.,  267. 

Aztecs,  86,  261,  271,  550. 

Babines,  514- 

Bachapins,  431,  482,  570,  588. 
]5ack,  Sir  G.,  523. 
Badegoule,  318,  323,  326. 


6oo 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


Badger,  213,  315,  358;  in  lake-dwell- 
ings, 202,  215. 

Baegert,  Father,  569. 

Baer,  von,  212,  300. 

Baffin's  Bay,  491,  504,  510, 

Bagford,  Mr,  342. 

Bailey,  437  f.,  561. 

Baillon,  M.,  361. 

Bainbaras,  570. 

Baker,  Sir  S.,  428. 

Balize,  395. 

Ball,  of  flint,  92. 

Ball,  Sir  Robert,  407. 

Ballidon  Moor,  152. 

Baltic  Sea,  173,  196,  233. 

Banks,  Sir  J.,  480. 

Barbadoes,  548. 

Barley,  129;  found  in  lake-villages,  216, 
218,  233. 

Barrow,  124,  132,  159,  227,  vide  also 
tumulus  ;  long,  143  ff.,  177  f-  ;  me- 
morial, 177  ;  round,  144  ff. ,  177  f. 

Barth,  Mr,  121. 

Barton,  291. 

Basalt,  77,  80,  91. 

Basket-work,  424,  457,  473,  484. 

Basques,  555. 

Bassett  Wood,  150. 

Bate,  Mr  Spence,  232. 

Bateman,  Mr,  57,  75,  143  f.,  147  ff., 
159  f.,  169,  171,  175,  247. 

Bates,  580. 

Bath,  290. 

Beads,  10,  48,  i5off.,  166,  256,  271, 
547  ;  agate,  167  ;  amber,  77,  163  ff. ; 
bone,  265  ;  Callais,  77,  166  f.  ;  glass, 
41,  150,  156  ;  jasper,  167  ;  jet,  156; 
metal,  265;  pottery,  152  f.,  quartz, 
167  ;  shell,  256,  265. 

Bean,  the,  217. 

Bear,  brown,  304,  315  ;  cave,  2,  280 ff., 
296,  308,  310,  312,  315  ff.,  319  f-, 
33 1)  377  ■•  in  Kjokkenmoddings, 
236:  lake-dwellings,  202,  212 ff.; 
grizzly,  283,  304,  359  ;  mounds,  267; 
pipe,  255. 

Beam,  555. 

Beaver,  213  ff. ,  359  ;  in  Kjokkenmod- 
dings, 236 ;  lake-dwellings,  202  ff.  ; 
pipe,  255. 

Beckhampton,  126. 

Beckwith,  Lieut.,  88. 

Bedford,  291,  346. 

Bedouins,  561. 

Beech-trees  in  Denmark,  248,  387. 

Beechey,  Capt.,  285,  506,  539. 

Beehive  houses  of  Scotland,  61,  62. 

Bee  Low,  150. 

Behring  Sea,  506. 


Belcher,  Sir  E.,  439,  493. 

Belgium,  80  f.,  299,  334,  422,  586; 
bone-caves  in,  308  ff. 

Bellary,  140. 

Beneden,  M.  van,  309, 

Benihassan,  56. 

Benty  Grange,  153. 

Berne,  40,  224. 

Bertrand,  M.,  126,  360. 

Betula  verrucosa,  387. 

Bevaix,  189. 

Beyer,  Dr,  59. 

Bible,  428,  vide  also  Leviticus,  Penta- 
teuch ;  animals,  205,  206  ;  cereals, 
219;  chronology,  383  ;  stone  circles, 
122  ;  tumuli,  141. 

Bicetre,  373. 

Biel,  220. 

Bienne,  15,  18,  36,  39,  47,  185,  203, 
220,  223  f.,  390  f. 

Bilidt,  shell-mound  at,  229,  233. 

Birch-tree,  387. 

Bird  mounds,  267  ff. 

Birds  in  Kjokkenmoddings,  234,  237  ; 
in  lake-villages,  199,  204  f 

Bison,  208,  285,  292  ;  American,  301, 
304;  European,  209  ff.,  236,  304, 
328;  EuropcEus,  280,  299  ff.,  315; 
in  lake-villages,  202  ff.,  209,  215; 
Priscus,  375. 

Bits  for  horses,  bronze,  70  ;  iron,  10, 
152. 

Blackberry,  217. 

Blackmore,  Dr,  102,  302. 

Blake  Low,  151. 

"Blancfond,"  188,  192. 

Bleek,  W.  H.  J.,  437. 

Blore,  152. 

Boar,  wild,  155,  202  ff.,  207,  2ilff., 
235.  315.  339,  358,  541 ;  vide  also  Pig. 

Boats,  II,  22,  173,  503,  vide  also 
Canoe,  Ship  ;  of  lake-dwellers,  187. 

Bohemia,  112. 

Bolas,  529,  544  f.,  548  f.,  580. 

Bole  Hill,  152. 

Bologna,  68. 

Bone-beds,  Indian,  348  ;  caves,  76, 
298  f.,  304,  307  ff. ,  322  ;  implements, 
18,  74,  76,  102  f.,  147,  150 ff.,  189, 
196,  242,  265,  325,  420,  vide  also 
Awl,  Chisel ;  knife  handles,  37  ;  pits, 
265  ;  shovels,  129;  sword  handles,  35. 

Bones,  comparison  of  wild  and  domestic 
animals,  208  ;  eaten,  321  ;  human,  in 
caves,  307  ff.  ;  prevalent  in  Kjokken- 
moddings, 237. 

Bonwick,  Mr,  453. 

Boomerang,  97,  444  ff.,  539,  544  ff.,  580. 
Booth  Low,  151. 


INDEX 


60 1 


Boothia  Felix,  502. 

Borlase,  6,  108. 

Borneo,  183,  188,  386,  555. 

Bornou,  117. 

Boroughbridge,  112. 

Borreby  tumulus,  146. 

Borthor  Low,  151. 

Bos,  366,  423  ;  Bison,  203,  209  ;  bona- 
sus,  301  ;  brachiceros,  203,  210  ; 
frontosus,  203,  209  ff.  ;  indicus,  210  ; 
latifrons,  301  ;  longifrons,  210  f  ; 
nomadicus,  348  ;  palceindicus ,  348  ; 
primigenius ,  203,  209  f.,  236,  280, 
301,  312,  375  ;  priscus,  300  f.,  304, 
375  ;  trochoceros,  207,  209 ;  tirus,  236. 

Boscawen,  1 19. 

Bos  torn,  150. 

Boucher  de  Perthes,  182,  211,  340 ff., 
354ff.,  37of. 

Boue,  M.  A.,  331. 

Boule,  Prof.,  420. 

Boulder  clay,  412. 

Bourgeois,  Abbe,  423,  425. 

Bourguignet,  M.,  339. 

Bourneville  enclosure,  Ross  Co.,  257. 

Bowl  of  wood,  55,  254. 

Box,  bronze,  150. 

Boye,  M.,  162,  164. 

Boyne,  172. 

Bracelets,  4,  221  ;  bronze,  18,  39,  45, 
47  f'l  55)  69  f.,  220,  222;  copper, 
256,  265,  518;  gold,  70;  from  lake- 
villages,  189. 

Brachycephalic  skull,  145,  272. 

Brandon,  78  f.,  85,  415. 

Brandt,  283,  290,  297,  301. 

Brassington  Moor,  150. 

Brazilian  Indians,  540,  542,  548,  553, 
557  f.,  562,  566,  568,  576,  581- 

Bread  found  in  lake-villages,  216,  233. 

Breastplate,  10,  14. 

Brennanstown  Dolmen,  no. 

Brennus,  9. 

Breuil,  Abbe  H.,  281,  286,  289,  294  f., 
299  f.,  328. 

Brewis,  30. 

Briart,  M.,  80. 

Bridlington,  Yorkshire,  347. 

Brie,  363. 

Bristol  Channel,  113. 

Britons,  204,  550. 

Brittany,  77,  1 14,  125  f.,  135,  139, 
166,  172. 

Brixham  cave,  282,  302,  310,  31 1. 

Broch,  or  Burgh,  62,  298. 

Bronze,  4,  5,  7,  24,  27  ff.,  167,  170, 
292,  432  ;  found  with  remains  of 
horse,  175;  implements,  72,75,314, 
388  f.  :    classes   of,    67  :    in    tumuli, 


133.  147  f.,  150  ff-,  159  ff-;  intro- 
duced into  Europe,  36,  66 ;  plated 
with  silver,  14 ;  used  in  Egypt,  8  : 
in  lake-dwellings,  17  f.,  185,  189:  in 
Mycenae,  9  :  by  Romans,  23  f.  :  by 
savages  471  ;  weapons,  vtde  Axe, 
Celt,  Lance,  Sword,  etc.  :  discon- 
tinued, 14:  not  Roman,  21  ff.  ;  will 
not  cut  stone,  126. 

Bronze  Age,  3,  15,  17  ff,  22  ff.,  27  ff., 
59,  65  ff.,  93,  130,  132,  142,  159, 
161  ff.,  171,  175,  178,  186,  196,  326, 
357,  389,  390,  427  ;  animals  of,  209 
ff.  ;  American,  251  ff.  ;  architecture 
of,  58 ;  chronology,  49  ;  epochs  of, 
68,  390;  flora  of,  217  ff.  ;  funeral 
customs,  57  ;  Iron  Age,  differentia- 
tion, 19 :  transition,  26 ;  in  lake- 
dwellings,  185  ff.  ;  life  in,  pastoral, 
57  ;  ornamentation,  19 ;  races  of, 
177  ;  skulls  of,  145  f.  ;  theories  re,  65. 

Brooches,  amber,  153  ;  bronze,  10  f., 
14,  39,  41,  44,  50,  54  ;  Roman,  128. 

Brooke,  Mr,  116. 

Broom,  birch,  11. 

Brougham,  Lord,  592. 

Brown,  Mr,  279,  556. 

Browne,  Sir  Thos.,  108. 

Bruckner,  Dr,  420. 

Bruncliffe,  150. 

Bruniquil  cave  in  Dordogne,  293,  321 

Brush  field,  152. 

Buccinum  tmdahiin,  234. 

Buckland,  Dr,  292. 

Buckles,  10,  14,  48. 

Buddha,  557. 

Buddhist  architecture,  137  f. 

Buffalo,  267. 

Buffon,  297. 

Bulleid,  Dr,  181. 

Bunbury,  Sir  C,  1 8 1. 

Bungogees,  428. 

Bunsen,  Baron,  384. 

Burchell,  431,  482,  544,  565,  570,  588. 

Burckhardt,  538. 

Burghs,  see  Broch. 

Burial,  587  ;  contracted,  56  f. ,  144, 
149  ff.,  159  ff.,  165,  265,  440,  459, 
466,  507,  524;  extended,  56  f.,  144, 
149  ff.,  159  ft".  ;  feasts,3i4;  megalithic, 
113;  mounds,  76,  109,  264,  265, 
vide  also  tumulus  ;  primary,  149  ff.  ; 
by  burning,  25,  48,  56  f.,  132,  149  ff., 
159  ff.,  223,  264,  524,  553;  during 
Iron  Age,  56  ;  in  caves,  309  ff.  ;  in 
dwellings,  116  ff.,  163,  460,  467, 
508;  in  tumuli,  54  ff.,  113,  135,  141, 
143,  264  ;  of  Bronze  Age  above  Stone 
Age,   168 ;    of  cave    men,    357  ;    of 


6o2 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


modern  savages,  438,  440,  459  f., 
466,  482,  507,  524,  530,  536,  553  ; 
of  food  and  drink,  316,  467;  of 
objects  with  the  dead,  67,  147. 

Burma,  425. 

Burmeister,  568. 

Burnet,  515. 

Burton,  Capt.,  204,   554  f.,  558,  571, 

573- 
Bushmen,    177,    337,    431,    437,    544, 

546  f.,  565.  571. 
Bushmills,  32. 
Busk,  Prof.,  106,  229,  282  f.,  311,  314, 

334.  341- 
Butter,  Prof.,  252. 
Butterwick,  156. 
Buttons,  bronze,  40,  47,  54  ;  jet,  156  ; 

stone,  156  ;  tin,  54. 
Buxton,  151. 

Buzzard,  N.  American,  255. 
Bygas,  102. 
Byron,  532,  534,  536,  564. 

Caesar,  132,  211  f.,  292,  296,  300  f. 

Cahirs,  64. 

Cahokia,  111.,  266,  273, 

Caillie,  M.,  570. 

Caithness,  63,  297  f. 

Calaveras  skull,  278. 

Caledonian  swords  of  iron,  9. 

California,  539,  569. 

Callais  beads,  77. 

Callander,  539. 

Callaway,  Canon,  572. 

Calton  Moor,  153. 

Calvert,  Mr,  460,  463. 

Cambria,  Niagara  Co.,  265. 

Camel,  206. 

Campagna,  49. 

Campbell,  W.  D,,  447. 

Camps,  57  f,,  76,  107,  no. 

Canada,  569. 

Candolle,  M.  de,  216. 

Caneto,  M.  de,  84. 

Cants  jainiliaris  {Mlustris),  203,  236  ; 

lagopus,  299 ;  lupus,  203,  236,  315; 

vulpes,  203,  236,  315. 
Cannibalism,  431,   553,  586  ;  Austral- 
ians, 450;   Fijians,  454,    456,    461  ; 

Fuegians,    243,  535 ;   Maories,  467, 

469  ;  Stone  Age,  241  f. 
Canoe  Indians,  527. 
Canoes,  90,    190,  357,  385,  431,  439, 

442,  453,  456,  466,  473,  476,  518  f., 

533.  536,  545,  553.  580. 
Canstatt,  333. 
Cantalupo,  295. 

Cap  from  tumulus,  52,  53,  55  f. 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  86,  106,  546,  561. 


Capercailzie,  235,  387. 

Capitan,  M.,  328. 

Capra  hircus,  203  ;  ibex,  203, 

Caracalla,  21. 

Cardiuni  edule,  233  f. 

Carib  Islands,  514,  540,  554. 

Carnac,  Mr  Rivett,  173;  in  Brittany, 
114,  135  f.,  166. 

Carocolla  lapicida,  234. 

Caroline  Islands,  183,  569. 

Carpathians,  284, 

Carpenter,  Dr,  395. 

Carret,  M.,  398. 

Carrier  Indians,  524. 

Cartailhac,  M.,  166. 

Carthage,  66. 

Cartwright,  Capt.,  512. 

Casalis,  572. 

Casciano  de  Prado,  361. 

Cashels,  64. 

Caspian  Sea,  331. 

eastern,  150,  151,  153. 

Casting,  in  moulds,  4,  41  f. ,  44,  67, 
253  ;  in  sand,  42  ;  with  wax,  42. 

Castle  Carrock,  157  ;  Howard,  154, 

Castle,  prehistoric,  76. 

Castor  fiber,  203,  236. 

Cat,  domestic,  205,  236  ;  wild,  213  ff., 
236,  255,  315. 

Catawba  Indians,  514. 

Catlin,  195,  259,  518,  521,  524  f.,  557, 
575,  588. 

Cattle,  209,  210  f,,  244;  wild,  Chil- 
lingham,  209  f.  :  Lyme  Park,  209 : 
Tankerville  Park,  211, 

Caucasus,  140,  295. 

Cave,  burial,  309;  drawings,  328  ff. , 
442;  dwellings,  318,  332;  explora- 
tion, 339  ;  see  Bear,  Hyaena,  Lion, 
Man. 

Cavendish,  528. 

Caves,  103  ;  Aurignac,  316  ff.  ;  bone, 
307  ff.,  322  ;  Dordogne,  318  ff.  ; 
Gironde,  328 ;  Spanish,  314,  328. 

Cawthorn  camps,  153. 

Celebes,  182  f. 

Celle,  380. 

Celts,  basalt,  77;  bronze,  18,  28  ff., 
47  f',  55,  66,  150  ff.,  224:  handles 
for,  29  ;  moulds  for,  29,  49  ;  jade, 
166  ;  iron,  28  ;  socketed,  11  ;  stone, 
74,  76,  88  ff.,  150  ff.,  166,  356. 

Cenfaurea  cyanus,  218. 

Ceram,  183. 

Cereals,  vide  Barley,  Corn,  Oats,  Rye. 

Cerz'us,  366 ;  akes,  203  ;  capreolus, 
203,  235,  312,  315;  elaphus,  203, 
235,  312,  315,  375  ;  euryceros,  375; 
taraitdus,  280,  312,  315,  375. 


INDEX 


603 


Ceylon,  6,  435,  437,  520. 

Chaillu,  M.  du,  560. 

Chaleux  cave,  309. 

Chalk,  79,  417. 

Chamois,  320,  330. 

Champagne,  363. 

Champlain,  252. 

Chancelade,  332,  335,  337. 

Chantre,  M.,  18,  68. 

Chapelle,  la,  aux  Saints,  334,  336. 

Charente,  137, 

Chariots,  10,  224. 

Charlesworth,  424. 

Charlevoix,  M.,  494. 

Charrua  Indians,  526. 

Chattahoochie  Valley,  279. 

Chatton,  157. 

Chauny,  374. 

Chavannes,  205. 

Chelleenne  (Chelles)  period,  419  f. 

Chelmorton,  151  f. 

Chelsfield,  382, 

Cherokees,  117,  263,  522. 

Cherry,  217. 

Chert,  82,  87. 

Chiavenna,  212. 

Chichasaw  Indians,  117,  522. 

Chili,  304. 

Chillingham,  wild  cattle,  209  (.,  301. 

China,  3,  9,  1 13,  158,  204,  207,  386,  555. 

Chinooks,  539,  546  f.,  551,  587. 

Chippeways,  520. 

Chisels,  bone,   15,  103,   196,  324,  471 

f.  ;   bronze,    18,    28,    70;    horn,    15; 

stone,  73  f.,  89  f.,  97,  150  ff.,  162  ff., 

471. 
Chittagong,  428,  556. 
Chloromelanite,  77. 
Choctaw  Indians,  514,  522. 
ChoUerton,  157. 
Chonos  Indians,   527,    534,    536,   551, 

564. 
Christol,  M.  de,  288,  308. 
Christy,  Mr,  317,  319  f.,  322,  324,  331, 

352.  504,  543- 
Chronology  of  Bronze  Age,  49  ;  palae- 

ontological,  281. 
Chunchos,  568. 
Chunk  Pole,  264. 
Chunkyards  described,  263  f. 
Cicero,  221. 
Ciconia  a/ha,  205. 
Cincinnati,  251. 
Cmchif:  aijitaticiis,  205. 
Circle  mounds,  260  fi.  ;  ornamentation, 

19  ;  stone,  vide  Cromlechs. 
Circleville,  Ohio,  261. 
Cissan  Beorh,  124 
Cists,  141  ff.,  150  ft'.,  162  ff.,  264. 


Civilization,  co-existence  of  diflferent 
states,  17  ;  early  stages  of,  543 ; 
effects  of,  589  ;  growth  of,  585,  593  ; 
in  lake-villages,  225. 

Clacton,  288. 

Clallum  Indians,  523. 

Clarence,  Erie  Co.,  265. 

Clark's  Work,  Ohio,  75,  257. 

Clarke,  W.  G.,  422  f. 

Clasps,  1 4. 

Classet  Indians,  514. 

Clayslate,  355, 

Clear  Lake  Indians,  524. 

Clichy,  360. 

Climate,  change  of,  330,  397  ff.  ;  effect 
of  eccentricity  of  orbit  on,  407  :  of 
obliquity  of  ecliptic  on,  411  :  of  ocean 
currents  on,  400  f.  :  of  sea-level  on, 
413  :  of  South  Polar  ice  on,  405  ; 
European,  401. 

Cloak  from  tumulus,  52  f.,  55  f. 

"  Cloghauns,"  76. 

Clonmacnoise,  51. 

Clothes,  10,  557  ;  from  lake-dwellings, 
190,  196,  198  f.  ;  from  tumuli,  52  ff., 
178  ;  of  American  Indians,  513  ;  of 
Australian  natives,  448 ;  of  Esqui- 
maux, 505  ;  of  Fijians,  458 ;  of 
Fuegians,  532,  536  ;  of  Hottentots, 
433 ;  of  Maories,  464 ;  of  Paraguay 
Indians,  526  ;  of  Patagonians,  528  f. ; 
of  Tahitians,  474  f. ;  of  Tasmanians, 
453  ;  of  Veddahs,  438. 

Clupea  harengus,  235. 

Coast-finds  in  Denmark,  95,  104,  106, 
241  ff. 

Cobeu  Indians,  554. 

Cockles,  211,  233. 

Codex  Diplomaticus,  124. 

Codrington,  Mr  T.,  350. 

Coffins,  142,  555  ;  of  chalk,  364  ;  of 
stone,  92,  132  ;  wooden,  51  ff  ,  55  ff., 

364,  374- 

Coins,  16,  19,  23,  27,  72,  224,  300; 
absent  from  bronze  finds,  10 ;  brass, 
151  ;  British,  296;  bronze,  10; 
Gallic,  224,  296 ;  Massaliote, 
Roman,  12,  14  f.,  20  ff.,  224,  3 
silver,  10. 

Cold  Eaton,  153. 

Golden,  515,  569. 

Collar,  gold,  69. 

Collegio  romano,  49. 

Cohanha  pa/unihiis,  205. 

Columbia,  524,  546,  549,  555. 

Comanches,  515. 

Comb,  53,  57,  152,  476,  529. 

Combarelles  cave,  294,  32S. 

Combe-Granal  cave,  318. 


224  ; 
^8f.  ; 


6o4 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


Commerce,  9,  50,  196 ;  of  Australian 
natives,  448 ;  of  Etruscans,  65  ;  of 
lake-villagers,  225. 

Concise,  37,  89,  92,  193,  196,  203  ff., 
207,  214,  217,  357. 

Confolens,  137. 

Congo,  414,  557. 

Constance  (Lake  of),  15,  185,  193  ff., 
220. 

Conwell,  172. 

Conyers,  342,  350. 

Cook,  Capt.,  114,  406,  427,  431,  435, 
440,  442,  445,  448,  453,  466,  471  f., 
476,  478  f.,  481  ff.,  491  f.,  508,  521, 

536,  542,  544,  556,  560  f.,  563- 

Cookery,  American  Indian,  518  ;  Esqui- 
maux, 494  ;  Hottentots,  434  ;  Tahi- 
tians,  478  ;  Veddahs,  438. 

Copenhagen,  6,  36,  46,  73,  93,  146, 
226,  228. 

Copper,  3,  4,  7,  23,  68,  72,  77,  251  ff,, 
517;  Age,  68;  in  America,  251  ff., 
275 ;  mines,  253  f.  ;  ore,  267  ;  use 
of,  in  China,  9  :  in  Egypt,  71:  in 
India,  9 :  by  modern  savages,  47 1 , 
518. 

Coppermine  River,  253. 

Coral  found  at  Concise,  196. 

Corcelettes,  16  f.,  47. 

Cordier,  M.,  371. 

Corn,  hills,  273 ;  Indian,  273 ;  not 
found  in  shell-mounds,  244  ;  of  lake- 
men,  216  f. 

Corn-crushers,  16  f.,  195. 

Cornet,  M.,  80. 

Cornwall,  6,  9,  49,  80,  119. 

Correze,  334. 

Corribas  tribe,  445. 

Corsica,  555. 

Cortaillod,  16,  17,  45,  47,  189,  222. 

Corvus  corax,  205  ;  corone,  205. 

Coteau  des  Prairies,  195. 

Cotton,  56. 

Cow  Low  tumulus,  149,  151. 

Cows,  57,  74,  202,  208  ;  vide  also  Ox. 

Crabs  in  Kjokkenmoddings,  234. 

Cradle  board,  514. 

Crag,  the,  424 ;  Norwich,  422  ;  Red, 
422. 

Crahay,  Mr,  331. 

Crannoges  in  Ireland,  183,  187,  330. 

Crantz,  204,  495,  506  ff. 

Crawfurd,  Mr,  451,  566  f.,  582. 

Crayford,  290,  345. 

Creek  Indians,  263,  514,  517. 

Creil,  367. 

Cremation,  25,  48,  56  f. ,  264  ;  vide  also 
Burial. 

Creswell  Crags,  328. 


Cricetus  phaus,  293  ;  vulgaris,  293. 

Crofts,  Professor,  225. 

Croll,  Mr,  306,  399,  400  f.,  404,  407  ft'., 

411  ff. 
Cromagnon  skulls,  332,  334. 
Cromer,  forest-bed,  416,  420  ;  till,  420. 
Cromlech,   107  ff.,    119   ff. ,    135,   157, 

172;  in  Bible,   122:  Denmark,  108 

ff. :     France,     108  :     Homer,     122 : 

India,  138. 
Cronkstone  Hill,  149,  153. 
Crooke,  W.,  174 
Cross  Low,  150. 
Crustacea  in  shell-mounds,  234. 
Culverwell,  Mr,  407. 
Cumberland,  157. 
Cunningham,  Mr,  442. 
Cup-markings,  174. 
Cureto  Indians,  568. 
Cutters,  stone,  326. 
Cuvier,  M. ,  297. 
Cwichelme's  Hloew,  124. 
Cygnus  musicus,  235,  238  ;  olor,  235. 
Cyprus,  7. 

Dab,  the,  235. 

Dacotahs,  515,  518,  520  f. 

Daggers,   15,  66  ;   bronze,   18,  30,  36, 

40  f.,  47  f.,  55,  68  ff.,  92,  98,   142, 

150  ff.  ;  copper,   7,   68  ;  horn,   327  ; 

stone,  98  ff.,  151  ff. 
Dahomans,  117,  555. 
Dale,  Mr,  106. 

Dale  County,  animal  mounds,  268. 
Daleau,  M.,  328. 
Dall,  Mr,  115. 
Dal  ton,  Col.,  138,  428. 
Dammaras,  564,  567. 
Damood  Island,  569. 
Dampier,  183,  232,  441,  443,  448,  544. 
Damson,  217. 
Dana,  Professor,  253. 
Dances,  450,  457,  467,  562. 
Danube,  410. 
Darent,  382. 
Dartford,  345  f. 
Dartmoor,  remains  on,  60. 
Darwin,    Mr    C. ,  207,  210,  232,  242, 

303   f-.  544-   564,   593;    Sir  George, 

398. 
Dastrnt,  Sir  G.  W. ,  41,  297. 
David,  Lucas,  294. 
Davis,  Mr  E.  H.,  77,  250  ff. 
Davis  Strait,  501. 
Davy,  438. 
Dawkins,  Boyd,  206,  210,  283  f.,  297, 

301,  317,  324,  328,  339. 
Dawson,  Mr,  337. 
Day,  439, 


INDEX 


605 


Deccan,  119,  140,  588. 

Decker,  Adolph,  531,  535. 

Dee,  river,  1 1 3. 

Deepdale,  152. 

Deer,  red,  147,  174,  203,  211  ff.,  215, 
235.  239,  298,  312,  315,  339,  346, 
358,  423,  541  :  in  cave  finds,  314  f.  : 
in  Kjokkenmoddings,  235  :  in  lake- 
dwellings,  200  ff.  ;  Barbary,  314; 
horn  picks,  79  f. 

Defensive  enclosures,  250. 

De  Fuca  Straits,  514. 

Delaunay,  M.,  426. 

Delaware  Indians,  522. 

Delechette,  M.,  73,  108,  114,  330. 

Delphintis  phocana,  236. 

Denham,  Mr,  117,557. 

Denmark,  40,  60,  62,  67,  194,  226  ff. , 
284  f.,  299,  301,  323,  3S1,  387,  498, 
595 ;  bronze  celts  in,  30 ;  bronze 
swords  in,  35  ff. ;  chambered  tumuli, 
163  ff.  ;  cremation  in,  57  ;  intersected 
bywords,  231  ;  Romans  never  in,  23  ; 
skulls  from,  146,  164  ;  stone  imple- 
ments, 73  ff.,  83  ff.,  88  ff.,  94  ;  vide 
also  Kjokkenmoddings. 

Denudation  of  continents,  409. 

Derbyshire,  144,  159,  170,  285. 

Desnoyers,  M, ,  307,  423. 

Desor,  Prof,  219  ff. 

Devil's  Dyke,  113. 

Devon,  310, 

Dickeson,  277,  279. 

Dieffenbach,  463,  467  f. 

Dighton  Rock  carvings,  271. 

Dinotheritim  gigantemn,  425. 

Diodorus  Siculus,  123,  555. 

Diorite,  194. 

Disks  of  flint,  75. 

Ditches,  58. 

Dnieper,  331. 

Dobritzhoffer,  525,  540,  566  f ,  571. 

Dodge,  Mr,  102. 

Dog,  57>  147,  321,  339.  550.  583  ;  do- 
mesticated, 175,  242,  244,  248,  434, 
438,  440,  464,  478,  503,  527,  534, 
540,  545,  550,  580  ;  sacrificed,  175  ; 
in  cave  finds,  330  ;  in  Kjokkenmod- 
dings, 236  f.,  543  ;  in  lake-villages, 
199  ff  ,  214  f. 

Dogrib  Indians,  516,  563. 

Dolichocephalic  skull,  145,  360. 

Dollikon,  180. 

Dolmens,  107  ff.,  135,  141  f,  172: 
African,  143  ;  as  shrines,  141  ;  in 
Caucasus,  140  ;  in  Denmark,  108  ff. ; 
in  France,  108,  137. 

Domestic  animals,  178,  390,  544,  551, 
580,    583  ;   in   Bible,    206 ;   in    cave 


finds,  320,  330,  543  ;  in  lake-villages, 
199,  207,  209  f.,  215  ;  in  Stone  Age 
tumuli,  248  ;  of  Esquimaux,  503  ;  of 
Hottentots,  432,  434;  of  Paraguay 
Indians,  526  ;  of  Tahitians,  478. 

Dordogne,  293,  295,  318,  334,  542. 

Dornadilla,  Dun  of,  64. 

Dorpfeld,  71. 

Dorse,  the,  235. 

Douler,  Dr,  278. 

Dove,  Rev.  T.,  453,  565. 

Dovedale,  151. 

Dowel,  151. 

Dow  Low,  151. 

Dowris  Hoard,  32. 

Drawings,  Esquimaux,  506  ;  in  caves, 
326  ff. ;  of  savages,  330,  524,  542. 

Dress,  buried  with  the  dead,  142  ;  in 
ancient  Egypt,  56 ;  in  Bronze  Age, 
50  ff.  ;  of  chief  from  tumulus,  52  ff.  ; 
of  woman  from  tumulus,  55  ;  vide 
also  Clothes. 

Drift  Age,  2,  73  ff.,  340  ff  ,  550  :  early 
British,  342  ff.  ;  gravels,  79,  206, 
213,  283,  292,  299,  302,  318,  324, 
340  ff.,  370  ff.,  386,  578:  character- 
istics of,  363  ff.  ;  fauna  of,  358  ff., 
375:  freshwater  origin  of,  371  :  im- 
plements from,  348  f ,  352  ff.  ;  in 
France,  342  ff.,  346,  351,  363  ff.  :  in 
Herefordshire,  343,  345  :  in  India, 
347  :  in  Isle  of  Wight,  350  :  in  Kent, 
345  f.  :  in  New  Jersey,  279 :  in  Suf- 
folk, 343  :  in  Surrey,  343  :  in  War- 
wickshire, 347. 

Drills,  48,  156. 

Drinking-cups,  69,  147,  150  ff,  169  ff. 

Druidical  monuments,  so-called,  58,  96, 
126,  135,  137,455,  542. 

Dublin  Museum,  23,  28  ff.,  74. 

Dubois,  Dr,  337  f ,  424. 

Ducks,  235,  256. 

Uuggleby,  155. 

Duncan,  Dr,  398. 

Duns,  64. 

Dunshaughlin,  184. 

Dupont,  Dr,  309. 

Durdham  Down,  291. 

Dlirnten,  interglacial  coal-beds  at, 
412,  423. 

Dwellings,  l^urial  in,  1 16,  163,  460, 
467,  508  ;  cave,  318,  332  ;  North 
American  mud,  263,  272  ;  subter- 
ranean, in  Bronze  Age,  60 ;  tumuli 
possibly,  117  ;  of  Aleutian  Islanders, 
115  ;  of  Andaman  Islanders,  439  ;  of 
Arctic  nations,  1 14,  490;  of  Aus- 
tralian natives,  440  ;  of  Esquimaux, 
490  ff.  ;  of  Fijians,  455  ;  of  Fuegians, 


6o6 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


531  ;  of  Hottentots,  433  ;  of  Lap- 
landers, 116;  of  Maories,  465;  of 
monkeys,  579  ;  of  North  American 
Indians,  521  f. ;  of  Paraguay  Indians, 
526  ;  of  Patagonians,  528  ;  of  Tahi- 
tians,  476 ;  of  Tasmanians,  453  ;  of 
Veddahs,  437. 

Dyaks,  183,  553,  555. 

Dykes,  76,  107,  112. 

Eagle,  golden,  204 ;  North  American, 

255. 
Earle,  Mr,  332,  468. 
Earrings,     bronze,     18,     47  ;      silver, 

153. 
Earth,  excentricity  of  orbit,  408,  413. 
Earthenware,  194  ;  vide  also  Pottery. 
Earthworks,    American,  250,  257   ff.  : 

antiquity  of,  275  :    periods  of,  277  ; 

ancient,  76  ;  Roman,  23. 
Easter  Island,  543,  545  f.,  587. 
Eccard,  6. 
Echelle  cave,  296. 
Ecker,  Mr,  331. 
Ecton,  151,  153. 
Edington  Burtle,  70. 
Eel,  235,  237. 
Egede,  506,  508. 
Egton  Moor,  154. 
Egypt,    27,    149,    158,  206,  340,  347, 

383,  411,  548,   581,  583  ;  barley  in, 

216  ;  copper  and  bronze  in,  7  f.,  37  ; 

dress,  56  ;  iron  in,  8  ;  stone  arrows, 

loi  ;  stone  axes,  97,  106. 
Egyptians,  55,  385,  520. 
Ekkehard,  294. 
El  Amreh,  7. 
Elephant,  211,  279,  281,  287,  304,  314, 

316,  358,  362,  418,  434,  539  ;  tooth, 

342- 
Elephas  antiquus,  280,  287,   291,   305, 

312,   366,   375,  419  ;    tnsignis,  348  ; 

nie7-idionalis,  423  ;  namadacns ,  348 ; 

prifnigeniiis ,  2S0,  285  ff.,  291,  312, 

315.  338,  375- 

Eliot,  517. 

Elk,  285,  292,  302,  541  ;  in  lake- 
villages,  202,  211  ff.  ;  Irish,  280  f., 
291  ff.,  296,  304,  315  ff.  ;  mounds, 
267  ;  North  America,  255. 

Elk  Low,  150. 

Elkstone,  153. 

Ellis,  Mr,  468  f ,  471,  475,  484,  487, 
^  488,  540,  556. 

Embankments,  76. 

Embroidery,  55. 

End  Low,  151. 

Engelhardt,  10,  11,  125. 

Engis,  skull  from,  334  f. ,  583. 


England,  412,  586,  595  ;  aurochs  in, 
212,  299  ff.  ;  burial  in,  57  ;  bronze 
weapons  in,  49,  67  ;  cremation  in, 
57  ;  elk  in,  304  ;  quaternary  mam- 
malia, 280  ff. ,  304  ;  reindeer,  296. 

Engraving  on  rock,  172  ff. 

Enthorpe,  157. 

Eoliths,  421  f. 

Equus,  366,  375  ;  asinus,  203,  315; 
caballus,  203,  206,  312,  315  ;  fossilis, 
206,  280,  293  ;  stlvestris,  294 ; 
spalceus,  206,  293. 

Erinaceus  europaus,  203,  236. 

Erling,  64. 

Erman,  114. 

Erskine,  Capt.,  456,  458,  462. 

Ervum  lens,  218. 

Escholtz  Bay,  285. 

Esquimaux,  7,  13,  95,  116,  323,  330  f., 
336,  358,  428,  445,  446,  490  ff.,  537, 
539  f-,  542,  545  f-,  548  ff,  555  ff-, 
559.  561  f.,  565,  567,  571,  579  f.  ; 
boats  of,  503  f.  ;  burial,  118,  158, 
508;  characteristics,  511;  clothes, 
505  ;  cookery,  494 ;  drawings,  506  f. ; 
dwellings,  114,  118,  490  ff. ;  food, 
200,  204,  321,  493,  495  ;  implements 
of  flint,  87,  94,  98,  497  ff.,  504; 
infanticide,  176  ;  jaw,  177  ;  marriage, 
510 ;  ornaments,  505  f.  ;  religion, 
507  ;  skull,  335  ;  stone  circles,  121  ; 
weapons,  499  f. 

Estavayer,  15  ff.,  37,  39,  47,  49. 

Etowah,  273. 

Etreaupont,  367. 

Etruscan,  65,  123,  158. 

Europe,  bronze  introduced,  36,  66 ; 
civilization  in,  3  ;  iron  introduced,  9  ; 
man's  first  appearance  in,  i  ;  stone 
implements,  94  ff.  ;  submersion  of, 
405,  413  ff.  ;  tumuli,  1 14. 

Evans,  Sir  Arthur,  423  ;  Sir  John,  10, 
26,  68,  71,  88,  232,  252,  311,  341  ff., 
345.  350,  355,  373.  398,  423  f. 

Excavations  for  flint,  78  f. 

Excentricity  of  earth's  orbit,  408,  413. 

Eyre,  441,  444,  447,  449. 

Eyzies,  Les,  cave,  318  ff.,  328. 

Faba  vulgaris,  218. 

Fabrics,  impressed  on  pottery,  172  ;  in 

lake-villages,    17,    103,    198  f,  218; 

in  tumuli,  50. 
Fakaafo,  552. 
Falco  Buteo,  204  ;  mihms,  204  ;  nisus, 

204  ;  pahinibarius,  204. 
Falconer,  Dr,  238,  282,  288,  302,  31  iff., 

341- 
Falkner,  528,  539. 


INDEX 


607 


Fan  tribe,  469. 

Fannerup,  82  f.,  229,  231. 

Fantees,  117. 

Faudel,  Mr,  331, 

Faustina,  junior,  14. 

Felis  atrox,  285  <;  catus  {/ertis),  203, 
236,  315;  lynx,  236;  spelaa,  280, 
284  f.,  312.  315,  375. 

Felspar,  76. 

Felstone,  76. 

Fergusson,  108,  129,  137,  141,  557,  574. 

Ferrybridge,  157. 

Festival  of  the  Dead,  265. 

Fetichism,  573  f. 

Fijians,  customs,  385  f. ,  454  flf,,  469, 
545.  555  f .  559.  S7o,  573  ;  human 
sacrifice,  176 ;  neck-rests,  223  ; 
tumuli,  no. 

Filhol,  M. ,  339. 

Fillefjeld,  296, 

Finns,  146. 

Fire,  551  f.,  579;  among  Esquimaux, 
496  f. :  Fuegians,  536 :  lake-dwel- 
lings, 197  :  North  American  Indians, 
520 :  Tahitians,  478 ;  Tasmanians, 
453:  obtaining,  447  :  sticks  or  drills, 
453  f.,  520,  579- 

Fischer,  M.,  77. 

Fish,  catching,  531,  540  f.  ;  drawings 
of,  327  ;  in  Kjokkenmoddings,  235, 
242;  in  lake-dwellings,  181,  199, 
205,  217. 

Fish-hooks,  bronze,  16  f.,  36,  47,  220, 
545  f .  ;  of  Australians,  443  f.,  545  ; 
of  Esquimaux,  497,  502,  545  ;  of 
Fijians,  545;  of  Friendly  Islands,  545; 
of  Fuegians,  531,  545  ;  of  Hottentots, 
434,  545  ;  of  Maories,  464,  545 ;  of 
North  American  Indians,  545  f.  ; 
Society  Islands,  545 ;  Tahitian=;, 
472  ;  Tasmanians,  453. 

Fisherton,  302. 

Fishing-line  weights,  95,  195. 

Fitzroy,  464,  467,  487,  532,  535,  544, 

585. 

Fitz-Stephen,  301. 

Flax,  17,  103,  199,  218,  219. 

Flaxdale  Barrow,  151,  170. 

Flensborg,  10,  38,  74. 

Flinders,  446. 

Flint,  2,  76  ff.,  128,  130,  166  f.,  194  f. ; 
arms  and  implements,  73  flf.,  82,  93 
ff.,  104,  144,  149,  158,  162,  171,  227, 
296,  311,  317,  321  flf.,  540,  vide  also 
Arrow,  Axe,  Dagger,  Lance,  Sword  : 
evolution  of,  57^:  of  drift  gravels,  341 
ff. ,  348  ff.  :  of  shell-mounds,  241  ff. , 
244  ;  disks,  75  ;  finds,  106  ;  flakes, 
15    ff.,   74,   81   ff.,    104  f.,   130,    148, 


150  ff.,  161  f.,  164  ff.,  193  f.,  232, 
239,  244  ff.,  251,  308  f.,  312,  322, 
348,  423,  425,  549 :  method  of 
making,  85  f.  ;  fracture  of,  83  ff.,  87, 
354  ;  gun,  79  ;  javelin  head,  54 ; 
nuclei,  15,  81,  166,  322 ;  will  cut 
stone,  126;  workshop,  104,  345, 

Florence,  23  ;  in  Alabama,  273. 

Florida,  256,  263,  266,  395,  524. 

Flourens,  Mr,  237. 

Flower,  Mr,  349,  352. 

Foix,  Comte  Gaston  de,  297. 

Folkestone,  291. 

Font  de  Gaumecave,  286, 289,  295,  328. 

Food,  buried  with  dead,  316,  467  ; 
of  Andaman  Islanders,  439 ;  of 
Australians,  441  ;  of  Esquimaux, 
493  ff. ;  of  Fijians,  454 ;  of  Fuegians, 
532  ff.  ;  of  Hottentots,  433  ;  of 
Maories,  463  ;  of  North  American 
Indians,  523  ;  of  Patagonians,  530  ; 
vessels,  69,  147,  150  ff.,  169  f. 

Foote,  Mr  Bruce,  347  f. 

Forchhammer,  Prof.,  228,  233. 

Ford,  157. 

Forel,  M.,  17. 

Foreland  Cliffs,  350. 

Foremark,  152. 

Forestian,  420. 

Formosa,  588. 

Forskey,  M.,  395. 

Forster,  466,  473,  485,  532,  544,  567. 

Forsyth,  Mr,  102. 

Fort  Hill,  Ohio,  fortification  at,  257  f. 

Fortifications,  76,  107,  no,  172,  545, 
547  ;  Fijian,  455 ;  islands,  184  ; 
Maories,  465  ;  North  American 
Indian,  250,  257  ff. 

Foster,  Mr,  252  ff. 

Foulahs,  570. 

Founders'  stocks  of  bronze,  19. 

Foundry  bronze,  49. 

Fowl,  domestic,  205,  235. 

Fowler,  Sir  W.,  79. 

Fox,  298  f ,  315,  320,  359  ;  Arctic, 
298;  in  Kjokkenmoddings,  236,  244  ; 
in  lake-villages,  200  ff. ,  212  f. 

Fox  Indians,  517. 

France,  284,  290  f.,  296,  299,  301,  304, 
317.  330 ;  antiquities  in,  20,  48  ; 
bronze  celts  in,  28  :  finds  in,  18,  23  ; 
cave  finds  in,  308  ff.  ;  flint  quarries 
in,  195  ;  megalithic  monuments  in, 
108  ff.  ;  stone  implements  in,  77,  81, 
94,  97,  loi  ;  vitrified  forts  in,  n2. 

Franklin,  201. 

Franks,  Mr  A.  W.,  158,  232,  444. 

Fredericksund,  229. 

Frederickville,  75. 


6o8 


PREHISTORIC  TIMES 


Frere,  Mr,  342,  350. 
Freshwater  origin  of  gravels,  371. 
Freycinet,  M.,  543,  556  ff.,  564,  588, 
"  Friar's  Heel,"  Stonehenge,  133 
Friendly   Islanders,   481,  488,  545   f., 

559-    , 
Fnesland,  209. 

Froelund,  coast-find  at,  105. 

Frog-mounds,  267. 

Frontal,  Trou  du,  309. 

Fruit,  190. 

Fuegians,  3,  239,  242  ff,,  431,  446,  527, 

531.  537  f-,  544  f.,  547.  55°  f-,  555, 

563,.  566,    572,    585;    burial,    536; 

cannibalism,  535  ;  clothes,  532,  536  ; 

dwellings,    531  ;     food,     533,    535  ; 

hunting,  534  ;  ornaments,  536. 
Fulica  atra,  205. 
Funeral  rites,  of  Bronze  Age,  57  ;  of 

Khasias,  138  ;  see  also  Burial. 
Furfooz  cave,  309. 
Furniture  of  Hottentots,  433. 

Gadus  callarias,  235. 

Galles,  M.,  166. 

Gallus  domesticus,  235. 

Galton,  Sir  F.,  321,  586  ;  Sir  D.,  34. 

Games,  457. 

Ganges,  410, 

Ganggraben,  114,  117,  144. 

Ganton  Wold,  1:55. 

Garda  Lake,  181. 

Garden-beds  of  Wisconsin,  274,  276. 

Gardham,  157. 

Garrigou,  M.,  329. 

Garrows,  428. 

Gasconade  Co.,  277. 

Gastaldi,  M.,  181. 

Gauls,  10,  185,  221. 

Gebelin,  Count  de,  271. 

Geikie,  Sir  A.,  306,  410  f.  ;  Professor 

James,  420. 
Geneva,  Lake  of,  185  f.,  188,  190,  220, 

387. 

Genista  cave,  314. 

Geology,  its  principles,  2. 

German  Ocean,  233. 

Germany,  40,  58,  60,  284,  290  f.,  296, 
299,  300  f.,  414;  lake  worship  in, 
221;  stone  implements  in,  77  ;  tumuli 
in,  123  ;  vitrified  forts  in,  112. 

Gervais,  M.,  301. 

Gesner's,  212. 

Ghats,  smelting  among,  6. 

Giant's  Dance,  131. 

Gib  Hill  tumulus,  150,  153. 

Gibraltar  cave,  282,  314,  334. 

Gilgal,  stones  of,  122. 

Gillieron,  M.,  198,  391. 


Gindle  Tap,  153. 

Giraldus  Cambrensis,  130. 

Girdle  ornament,  14. 

Gironde,  414. 

Gizeh,  8. 

Glacial  periods,  287,  305  f. ,  396  ff., 
420 ;  astronomical  explanation  of, 
402  ff.  ;  date  of,  409 ;  geographical 
changes  in,  416  ;  reasons  for,  397  f. 

Glaciations  and  Palaeolithic  industries, 
420. 

Glaciers,  Antarctic,  404  f.,  412  ;  origin 
of,  397  ;  rate  of  formation,  386. 

Glass,  25,  27,  224,  542 ;  beads,  41, 
150,  156;  brooch,  153  ;  vessels,  41. 

Glastonbury  lake-dwelling,  181,  186. 

Glove,  327. 

Gloucester,  144,  290. 

Glutton  or  wolverine,  280,  299. 

Goat,  174,  314;  in  Bible,  206;  in  lake- 
villages,  199  ff.,  215. 

Gobien,  Father,  551  f. 

Godalming,  343. 

Godavery,  348. 

Godhavn,  114. 

Godwin-Austen,  310  f. 

Goguet,  6. 

Gold,  2,  3,  9,  45,  51,  69  ;  ornaments, 
52,  53. 

Gold  Coast,  183. 

Goose,  235. 

Gordon,  Dr,  231  ;  Lady  Duff,  561. 

Gorge  d'Enfer  cave,  318. 

Gorget,  copper,  256. 

Gorilla  skull,  337. 

Gosse,  Mr,  514. 

Gotum,  151. 

Gouge,  bronze,  18,  40,  70 ;  stone, 
88. 

Gowland,  6,  7. 

Gower  caves,  296. 

Grain,  in  lake-villages,  17,  190,  216, 
218  ;  crushers,  233. 

Grant,  Captain,  570. 

Granville,  269 

Gratton  Hill,  150. 

Grave  Creek  mound,  256,  265,  271. 

Gravel,  river  drift,  see  Drift ;  carried  by 
water,  372. 

Graves  of  chiefs,  92 ;  copied  from 
dwelling,  118;  passage,  114;  vide 
also  Barrow,  Burial,  Tumulus. 

Gray,  Mr  St  George,  128  ;  Dr,  210. 

Gray's  Thurrock,  283,  291. 

Greek,  56,  123,  216,  558. 

Greenland,  114,  146,  399,  490,  495. 

Green  Low,  150. 

Greenstone,  92. 

Greenstreet  Green,  290,  345. 


INDEX 


609 


Greenwell,  Canon,  30,  57,  78  ff.,  108, 
142,  145,  147,  149,  154,  160,  174  f., 
247. 

Greey,  Mr,  138. 

Gregory  of  Tours,  124,  221. 

Grenaa,  230. 

Grey,  Sir  George,  441  flf.,  451,  539, 

Grimes'  Graves,  78,  80,  91,  106. 

Grimston  Moor,  154. 

Grindstones,  15. 

Grisons,  212. 

Gristhorpe,  142. 

Grouse,  256,  302. 

Grunty  Fen,  70, 

Grus  cinerea,  205. 

Guana  Indians,  526. 

Guarany  Indians,  526. 

Guasarapo  Indians,  526. 

Guato  Indians,  526. 

Guinea,  Gulf  of,  401. 

Guise,  367. 

Gulf  Stream,  deflection  of,  399 ;  effect 
on  climate,  400. 

Gulo  luscus,  280, 

Gun  flints,  79,  83,  85. 

GUnther,  Dr,  399. 

Haddon  Field,  152. 

Haeckel  on  Bushmen,  437. 

Hagiar  Kem,  172. 

Haigh,  Dr,  14. 

Hains,  Dr,  284. 

Hairpins,  bronze,  40,  223. 

Halberd,  69. 

Hale,  552  f. 

Haligenes,  401. 
Haliiherium  fossile,  426. 

Hall,  494,  506,  508,  511,  559. 

Hallstadt,  25  ff.,  45. 

Hambleton,  154. 

Hammers,  580  ;  bronze,  18,  40,  47,  70  ; 
horn,  80,   150;   stone,  15,  74,   100, 
102,  193  ff.,  240,  321  ff.,  348,  442. 
Hampshire,  349  f. 
Hamster,  393. 
Hamy,  M.,  426. 
Hanuman,  141. 
Hare,  204,  236,  299  ;  Alpine,  299,  320; 

tailless,  302. 
Harness  (horse),  11,  14. 
Harpoon,  439,  499  f.  ;  bone,  103,  105, 
501,  523,  535,  541  ;  horn,  15  ;  stone, 
102,  501, 
Harrison,  Mr,  346,  421  ;  Pres. ,  275. 
Harthill  Moor,  150. 
Hatchet,  see  Axe. 
Haughton,  Rev.  S. ,  76. 
Havelse,  229,  234  f. ,  240,  247. 
Haven,  S.  F.,  250,  266. 


Hawk,  255. 

Hawkesworth,  227,  532. 

Hazel-nut,  217, 

Hazelwood,  455. 

Hearne,  515  f.,  569. 

Hebrews,  206. 

Hebrides,  142. 

Hecataeus,  132. 

Hector's  barrow,  123. 

Hedgehog,  202,  236. 

Heer,  Prof,,  216,  219. 

Heilly,  21, 

Heim,  Prof.,  409. 

Helanus  Mount,  221. 

Heliopolis,  392. 

Helix  nemoralis,  234  ;  strigella,  234. 

Helmets,  10. 

Hemp,  218  f. 

Henslow,  Prof.,  352, 

Herberstein,  211,  294,  301, 

Herbst,  K.,  51,  73  f.,  229. 

Hercynian  Forest,  212,  296,  301. 

Hermance,  189. 

Hermite,  Jaques  le,  531. 

Hernandez,  86. 

Heme  Bay,  345. 

Herodotus,    56,    176,    180,    183,     191, 

284,  392. 
Heron,  255. 
Heron-Allen,  Mr,  423. 
Herring,  235. 
Herschel,  Sir  J.,  406. 
Hesiod,  5,  205. 
Heslerton  Wold,  155. 
Hibbert,  Dr,  297. 
Hill  Head,  152. 
Himalayas,  302. 
Hindoo,  576. 
Hindustan,  108, 
Hippopotamus,  280,  290,  304  f. ,  312  f,, 

346,    413,    418;     amphibius,     291; 

major,  280,    375,    423  ;  palaindicus 

348. 
Hippotherium  a?tteloptnum,  425. 
Hirson,  M.  de,  367. 
Hirundo  riistica,  235  ;  tirbica,  235. 
His,  Prof,  220. 
Hisely,  M.,  391. 
Hitchin,  343. 

Hoards,  19,  31,  32,  48,  67  f.,  70. 
Hoare,  Sir  R.  C. ,  6,  39,  47,  57,   132, 

147,  159 f.,  170,  247,  259. 
Hobhurst's  House,  152. 
Hoe,  28. 

Hog,  domestic,  vide  Pig. 
Holstein,  209. 

Homer,  5,  122,  125,  205,  219,  558. 
Hook,  bronze,  18  ;  vide  also  Fishhook. 
Hooker,  Sir  J.  D.,  139,  536,  570,  572. 

39 


6io 


PREHISTORIC  TIMES 


Hopkins,  396  fF. 

Hordeum  distichum,  218;  hexastichon 
densum,  218 :  sanctum,  216,  218 ; 
vulgare,  216. 

Horn,  hammers,  8,  196;  implements, 
75  f.,  102,  189,  196,  2/^oS.,see  also 
Awl,  Chisel,  Harpoon  ;  knifehandles, 
37  ;  picks,  79,  129,  142  ;  sockets,  90. 

Hornblende,  77. 

Horner,  Mr,  392  ff. 

Horns,  of  deer,  180,  239  ;  buried  with 
the  dead,  147. 

Horse,  57,  280,  285,  293  f.,  296,  310, 
312,  315,  327  f.  ,339;  domesticated, 
174  ff.,  244,  294;  found  in  lake- 
dwellings,  181,  199 ff.,  2i4f.,  543; 
remains  of,  in  barrows,  174 f.,  245: 
in  drift  gravels,  346,  358,  366 :  in 
Kjokkenmoddings,    236 ;    sacrificed, 

175- 
Horse  Indians,  527. 
Horus  Temple,  8. 
Hottentots,  204,  337,  385,  432  ff.,  539, 

542,  545  f.,  550,  555,  571  f.,  582. 
Houses,  see  Dwellings. 
Houzeau,  M.,  80. 
Hovas,  135. 
Hoxne,  343,  366. 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  358,  359,  569, 

585. 

Hughes,  Prof.,  210  ;  Mr,  345, 

Hull,  Prof.,  414. 

Humphrey,  396. 

Hungary,  33,  212. 

Hunt,  Mr,  459  f. 

Hurdlow,  151. 

Hurons,  555. 

Hut-circles,  60,  76,  490. 

Hut-urns,  58  ff. 

Huxley,  Prof.,  333,  385. 

Hysena,  cave,  213,  280,  284,  304,  308, 
310,  3i2f.,  3i6f.,  319,  331  ;  spotted, 
284;  crocuta,  284,  314;  spelaa,  280, 

312,  315.  375- 
Hyer,  Mr,  261. 

HypudcEus  agrestis,  236 ;  amphibius, 
236. 

Ibbetson,  Mr,  174. 

Ibex,  2i2ff.,  314,  327  f.,  330. 

Ibos,  559. 

Ice  Age,  vide  Glacial  Periods. 

Ice-carrying  rocks,  370. 

Iceland,  297. 

Icklingham,  345. 

Iddah,  557. 

Ightham,  346,  421. 

Igloo,  492,  508. 

Ham,  150. 


Ilford,  283,  291. 

Illinois,  522,  585. 

Immortality,  belief  in,  suggested,  147, 
461,  507,  515. 

Incense  cup,  150,  169  f. 

India,  6,  118,  386,  557,  574;  copper 
axes  in,  9;  dolmens,  139  ff.,  143; 
lake-dwellings  in,  183  ;  megalithic 
monument,  137  ff.  ;  rock  sculptures, 
173  ;  stone  arrow-heads,  102,  106  : 
implements  from,  343,  347  f. 

Indians,  North  American,  4,  7,  88,  142, 
258  ff.,  323,  358,   385,  427,  512  ff, 

536,  539.  542,  545  ff-  549,  553,  557, 
566,  569,  580,  585,  588  ;  agriculture, 
522;  burials,  117,  140,  524;  char- 
acteristics, 516  f .  ;  corn,  273,  522; 
dwellings,  521;  dress,  513;  fire- 
drills,  520  ;  food,  523  ;  implements, 
523;  marriage,  516;  religion,  515; 
stone  circle,  119,  121. 
Indo-European  origin  of  Bronze  Age, 

65. 
Infanticide,   176,  437,  461,  467,  486  f , 

517,  527- 

Inishmurray,  61. 

Initiation  ceremonies,  449. 

Inkwyl,  185,  187,   193. 

Inman,  Dr,  138. 

Innuit,  see  Esquimaux. 

Inscriptions,  on  celt,  49  ;  on  shield,  14. 

Interglacial  Periods,  287,  306. 

Interment,  see  Burial. 

Iowa,  523. 

Ipswich,  422. 

Ireland,  131,  282,  284  f.,  290  f.,  595  f . ; 
bronze  celts  from,  28  ff. ,  66:  imple- 
ments, 49  :  sword  from,  23  ;  flakes 
from,  86  f.  ;  lake-dwellings,  183  f.  : 
worship,  222  :  quaternary  mammalia, 
280  ff.  ;  Romans  never  in,  23  ;  rock 
sculptures,    172 ;   stone   implements, 

74,  94 

Iron,  3  ff.,  23,  27,  59,  75,  159  f.,  431  f , 
546 ;  found  with  remains  of  horse, 
175  ;  implements  from  Hallstadt,  25 
ff.  :  Switzerland,  10,  17  :  tumuli, 
132,  147,  150  ff,  161  :  introduced 
into  North  Europe,  9,  27  ;  pyrites, 
149  f;  smelting  by  Hottentots,  435; 
synonymous  with  sword,  5,  23  ;  use 
in  North  America,  251  :  Assyria,  8: 
Egypt,  8 :  North  Europe,  12  ff.  : 
Scotland,  9. 

Iron  Age,  3,  10,  12,  15,  19,  25,  55,  59, 
159,  161  ;  difference  from  Bronze 
Age,  19;  lake -dwellings  of,  185, 
224  ;  ornamentation  in,  19  ;  skull  of, 
146  ;  transition  from  Bronze,  26. 


INDEX 


6ii 


Iroquois,  520,  522. 
Isefjord,  229,  234. 
Italy,  23,  58,   182,  282,  284  f.,  290  f., 

299.  301,  339. 
Ivory,  27. 
Ivry,  373  f. 
Izdubar,  123. 

Jade,  77,  166,  194,  355,  465. 
Jadeite,  77,  78. 
Jahn,  10. 
James,  142. 
Japan,  97,  106,  158. 
Jasper,  542. 
Java,  337  f.,  386,  424. 
Javelins,   flint,    54,    loi,    155   ff.  ;   ob- 
sidian, 86,  88. 
Jefferson,  265. 
Jeffreys,  Mr,  366, 
Jelalabad,  108. 
Jellinge,  124. 
Jensen,  M.,  162. 
Jet,  69,  i.S«,  156. 
Jewellery  in  Etruscan  tombs,  158. 
Jewitt,  108. 
Jews,  204. 
Joass,  Mr,  298. 
Joinville,  369. 
Jones,  Mr,  279. 
Jordan,  122. 
Jukes,  443.  569- 
Jura,  212  f. 
Justedal,  386. 
Justin,  221. 
Jutland,  51,  82,  88,  104  f.,  209,  233. 

Kaffirs,  62,  546  ff.,  561,  572,  576,  582, 

588. 
Kajak,  158,  503  f.,  508. 
Kamschatka,  115,  573. 
Kane,  494,  496  f.,  500,   502,  504,  506, 

517,  522,  524,  551,  575. 
Karague,  428. 
Karnak,  8,  41. 
Kattegat,  233  f. 
Keiss,  298. 
Keller,  Dr,  47,  181  f.,   187,  197,  220, 

222  f. 
Kendall,  422. 
Kennet,  126. 

Kent,  41,  72,  345,  3^2,  421. 
Kent's  Hole  cave,  291,  301  f.,  310. 
Kerry,  64,  597. 
Kessorloch,  298. 
Keston,  132. 
Khabb,  121. 

Khasias,  118,  138  f.,  572. 
Khonds,  39. 
Kiel,  74. 


Kildare,  131. 

Kimmeridge  shale,  150,  166. 

King,  Capt.,  347,  442,  444,  588. 

Kingsley,  Mr,  290. 

Kirby  Stephen,  157;  Underdale,  154. 

Kirkcudbrightshire,  92. 

Kirkdale,  291. 

Kistvaen,  143. 

Kit's  Coty  House,  113. 

Kivik,  173. 

Kjokkenmoddings,  74,  76,  82,  95  f., 
103,  204  f.,  211,  226  ff.,  283,  293  f., 
296,  299,  301,  322,  326,  330  f.,  356 
f.,  387,  500,  537,  541,  543,  553; 
builders  of,  239  f.,  242  ;  date  com- 
pared with  tumuli,  244  ff.  ;  fauna  of, 
233  ff.  ;  formation  of,  228  ff.  ;  imple- 
ments from,  96,  229,  239  ff.  ;  origin 
of  name,  228. 

Knapp,  Mr,  254. 

Knevett,  528. 

Knives,  3,  7,  66,  200,  228,  547  ;  bronze, 
16,  18,  30,  36f.,  41,  46 ff.,  54f.,  70, 
72,  162,  220;  flint,  82  ff.,  98,  129, 
150  ff.,  194,  310,  424,  442,  497  f., 
541;  iron,  lof.,  16,  24,  37,  i5of., 
224;  obsidian,  75,  519. 

Knossos,  71. 

Knox,  437, 

Koch,  Dr,  277. 

Kohen,  121. 

Kolben  on  Hottentots,  432  ff.,  538,  572. 

Kolindsund,  231. 

Kols,  428. 

Komagfjord,  116. 

Korsor,  104  f. 

Kotzebue,  285,  573  ;  Sound,  506. 

Koupouees,  558. 

Labuan,  183. 

Lachowski  Islands,  285. 

Lackenheath,  346, 

Ladrone  Islanders,  543,  551,  558,  564. 

Lady  Low,  152. 

Lafitau,  M.,  121. 

Lagomys,  or  tailless  hare,  302,  305,  313. 

Lagopus  fitsillus,  293. 

Laing,  Mr,  298,  538. 

Lake  -  dwellings,  of  Abbeville,  182; 
of  Celebes,  182  f.  ;  of  Denmark,  104  ; 
of  East  Indies,  183,  188  ;  of  Garda 
Lake,  181  ;  of  Glastonbury,  181  ;  of 
India,  183  ;  of  Ireland,  183  f.  ;  of 
Mecklenburg,  182  ;  of  modern  races, 
183;  ofNorthltaly,  182;  ofSalonica, 
182  ;  of  Scotland,  181  ;  of  Somme 
valley,  182;  of  South  America,  183  ; 
Thetford,  181  ;  Swiss,  10,  15,  16 ff., 
19,  39.  41,  50.  58  f.,  76,  103,  180 ff, 


6l2 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


233,  251,  283, 293  f.,  296, 299, 301, 

326,  330,  358,  377,  543,  553  :  age 
of,  391  :  bronze  hairpins  from,  40, 
193  ff.  :  bronze  knives  from,  36,  193 
ff. :  civilization  in,  225  :  commerce  in, 
225  :  construction  of,  187,  191  ;  fauna 
of,  199  ff,  2ioff.  :  flora  of,  217  ff.  : 
implements  from,  16,  90,  193  ff. :  men 
of,  219,  223  ff.  :  periods  of  different, 
189,  225  :  piles,  arrangement  of,  192  ; 
population  estimated,  357  :  pottery 
from,  196  ff.,  222, 

Lakes,  hiding  objects  in,  12  ;  worship 
of,  12,  221. 

Lamanon,  M.,  555. 

Lamantan,  256. 

Lances,  11,  580;  bone,  103,  i5off., 
325;  bronze,  16,  18,  30  ff,,  47,  67, 
70,  72,  133,  220  ;  copper,  252  ;  iron, 
10 ff.,  14,  16,  24,  224  ;  stone,  15,  74, 
98,  loi,  150 ff.,  162 ff.,  239f.,  322 ff., 
326,  342,  355,  420,  499  f. 

Lang,  Mr,  452,  568. 

Langton  Wold,  155, 

Language  of  savages,  555  f, 

Lankester,  Sir  E.  R.,  422,  426. 

La  Perouse,  M.  de,  569. 

Lapham,  250,  254,  261,  267,  269,  274  f. 

Laplanders,  204,  295  f.,  321,  331,  358, 
544,  561  ;  hut,  116,  146  :  skulls,  146, 
241  f. 

La  Plata,  251. 

Lark  River,  363. 

Lark's  Low,  150. 

Larnand,  i6f.,  19,  45. 

Lartet,  M.,  281,  288,  295,  304,  3i4f., 
317,  319  f-.  320,  322,  324,  326,  360, 
361,  419,  542  f. 

Larus,  205. 

Lastic,  Vicomte  de,  321. 

La  Tene,  10. 

Latins,  123. 

Laugerie,  318,  319,  323,  326. 

Lead,  19,  23  f. ,  27,  41. 

Leather,  in  lake-dwelling,  219 ;  in 
tumulus,  54. 

Leech,  Mr,  345. 

Leems,  321. 

Lefebvre,  M.,  167. 

Lefroy,  M.,  562. 

Leggings  from  tumulus,  54,  59. 

Leidy,  Dr,  285. 

Lemaire,  M.,  528. 

Lemming,  302,  304  f,,  376. 

Lengua  Indians,  526. 

Leopard,  285,  314. 

Lepchas,  570. 

Lepsius,  41. 

Lepus  timidus,  203. 


Le  Vaillant,  436,  571. 

Leveille,  Dr,  81. 

Leveque  Cape,  441. 

Leviticus,  55. 

Lichtenstein,  437. 

Lid  Low,  151. 

Liege,  308,  334, 

Liercourt,  381. 

Liffs  Low,  150. 

Linen,  50,  55. 

Lingam  worship,  173. 

Linum  angustifolium,  218. 

Lion,  the  cave,   280,  284,  312,  315  f., 

375.  377. 
Lisch,  Dr,  59  f. ,  182. 
Lithuania,  300. 
Littorina   litiorea,    233    f,  ;    obtttsata, 

234 
Liveyre,  318. 
Livingstone,  Dr,  571. 
"  Livres  de  beurre,"  81. 
Lizard -mounds,  267  ff. 
Loaisa,  G.  de,  528 
Lockyer,  Sir  N.,  133  f. 
Locray,  195. 
Loess,  292,  332,  365,  371,  378  f.,   380, 

399- 
Lohle,  M.,  15,  191,  357. 
Loire,  367  f.,  414. 
Lombardy,  302,  375. 
Long  Barrow,  164  f. 
Long  Island,  62. 
Longlow,  Mr  Watton,  144. 
Louisiana,  279. 
Lovaine,  Lord,  181. 
Lovehayne,  70, 

Low,  Bent,  151  ;  Islands,  489. 
Lubbock,  Sir  J.  W.,  398. 
Lucerne,  191,  213,  409. 
Lucretius,  5. 
Luissel,  185,  220. 
Lukis,  141. 
Lund,  301. 
Lunula,  69. 
Lutra  vulgaris,  236. 
Lyell,  Sir  C,  278,  311,  363,  393,  395, 

396,  399,  406  f.,  409.  416,  419- 
Lynx,  236,  285,  314,  359. 
Lyon,  Capt.,  200,  502  f.,  506,  556. 

Macaw  Indians,  523. 
Maccagnone  cave,  312  f. 
M'Culloch    Major,  558. 
MacEnery,  Mr,  301,  310. 
M'Gillivray,  431,  447  f.,  554. 
Machairodus  latidens,  301,  425, 
Mackenzie,  428  ;  River,  519. 
Madagascar,  118,  135,  386. 
Madelaine,  La,  cave,  318,  327. 


INDEX 


613 


Madras,  343,  347. 

Madrid,  361. 

Maeshowe  tumulus,  595. 

Magdal^nienne  period,  419  f. 

Magellan,  528  f.,  551  f. 

Maidenhead,  290. 

Maidstone,  113. 

Maize,  277,  513,  522, 

Malaise,  M.,  80. 

Malays,  386,  548,  556,  558,  566. 

Malayalies,  141. 

Mallet,  Mr,  11, 

Mallicollo,  544,  556. 

Malta,  172,  290. 

Mammalia,  Palseolithic  period,  279 ff. 

Mammoth,  2,  213,  2795.,  285  ff,  296, 
305,  308,  310,  315  f.,  327  f.,  344, 
346,  350.  361  f.,  377.  420. 

Man,  antiquity  of,  350,  383  ff;  cave, 
307  ff-,  33^ y_  350;  change  of  type, 
583 ;  co-existent  with  quaternary 
mammalia,  350,  361  ;  migrations  of, 
581  ;  prehistoric,  177,  307  ff.,  332  ff., 
581  :  art  of,  327  ff :  in  lake-dwellings, 
357  :  in  N,  America,  279 ;   races  of, 

385- 

Man,  Mr,  439  f. 

Manatee,  78,  256. 

Mandan,  259,  272,  521. 

Manne-er-H'roek  tumulus,  167. 

Mans,  138. 

Mantes,  367. 

Manufactures,  prehistoric,  51. 

Maories,  461,  463  ff.,  540,  542,  545  ff. , 
549.  554,  558  f.,  561,  563.  580; 
burial,  467  ;  cannibalism,  469  ; 
clothes,  464 ;  dwellings,  465  ;  food, 
463  ;  language,  556  ;  marriage,  467  ; 
ornaments,  465  ;  religion,  468  ; 
weapons,  466. 

Maquenoise,  367. 

Marathon,  123. 

Marehill,  152. 

Marin,  16. 

Marmots,  293,  305,  320. 

Marr,  Dr,  422. 

Marriage,  558  f.,  574  ;  among  Andaman 
islanders,  440 ;  among  Australian 
natives,  451  f.  ;  among  Esquimaux, 
510 ;  among  Maories,  467;  among 
N.  American  Indians,  516 ;  among 
Paraguay  Indians,  527  ;  among  Tahi- 
tians,  485  ;  among  Veddahs,  438. 

Marsden,  Mr,  468,  556,  558. 

Marseilles,  10,  65. 

Marten,  200,  215,  236,  359. 

Maries  sp.,  236. 

Martius,  557,  562,  566,  568. 

Maspero,  8. 


Masson,  108. 

Massowa,  428. 

Mastodon,  265,  277,  278,  279,  425. 

Matthews,  Mr,  no,  112,  573. 

Mattison,  Mr,  278, 

Maul,  stone,  275 

Maurice,  Mr,  135. 

Mausmai,  139. 

Maxentius,  22. 

Measurements,  259. 

Meath,  172. 

Mecklenburg,  50,  67,  182. 

Mediterranean,  196. 

Medum,  7. 

Med  way,  382. 

Megacerus  carnutoruDi,  423  ;  hiberni- 
cus,  280,  291  ff. 

Megalithic  monuments,  107  ff. ,  172. 

Meilen,  196,  200,  203,  216,  220. 

Meilgaard,  229  f ,  240,  244  f ,  247. 

Melanesians,  177. 

Meles  taxus,  315  ;  vulgaris,  203. 

Memphis,  392  f. 

Menchecourt,  340,  361,  375. 

Mendip  Hills,  285. 

Menhirs,  107,  no,  112  ff.,  135,  172; 
in  France,  108,  138;  in  Homer, 
125  ;  in  India,  138. 

Mentone,  336. 

Mergus  merganser,  205. 

Merry,  Mr,  446. 

Mesopotamia,  71. 

Metal,  432 ;  alloys,  4 ;  introduction 
into  Europe,  36,  66,  139:  in  bone 
caves,  330;  not  in  Kjokkenmoddings, 
242  :  tumuli,  126,  166 ff.,  177  ;  smelt- 
ing, 6,  432. 

Metallurgy,  of  bronze,  41,  50  ;  of  Bronze 
and  Iron  Ages  compared,  19  ;  know- 
ledge of,  62,  66,  330,  437. 

Meteoric  iron,  7. 

Mexico,  78,  82,  86,  431,  514,  586; 
Gulf  of,  78,  266,  395,  400  f.  ;  in- 
habitants of,  75,  512,  549;  paintings 
of,  252  ;  pyramids  of,  262  ;  Teocallis, 
266. 

Miall,  328. 

Miami  Indians,  522. 

Mica,  T],  256. 

Michigan  Lake,  267,  523,  585. 

Middleton,  151  ;  Moor,  150?. 

Milden  Hall,  346. 

Milk,  use  in  lake-dwellings,  217. 

Millet,  216. 

Milligan,  453,  566. 

Milne,  Capt.,  501. 

Milwaukie,  267,  270. 

Minatarees,  521. 

Mincopies,  439,  446,  543. 


6i4 


PREHISTORIC  TIMES 


Mindanao,  183. 

Mining  difficulties  in  early  times,  75. 

Minimi,  20. 

Mink,  359. 

Minnesota,  523. 

Minning  Low,  151, 

Minuana  Indians,  526. 

Miocene  period,  416,  425. 

Mississippi,    277,    279,    395,  399,  410, 

517,  522  f.  ;  tumuli,  77,  266  f. 
Missouri,  277,  517,  523. 
Moab,  135. 
Mocoby  Indians,  526. 
Models  buried  with  the  dead,  158. 
Moen,  tumulus  at,  162. 
Mcerigen,  47. 
Moffat,  572. 
Moir,  J.  Reid,  422. 
Moissan,  M  ,  328. 
Mollusca,  quaternary,  366,  375. 
Monaco,  Prince  of,  336. 
Monaghan,  89,  91,  184, 
Moneystones,  151, 
Mongez,  M.,  21. 
Montelier,  218. 
Montelius,  Dr,  68,  71  f.,  174. 
Montperieux,  140. 
Mont  St  Michel  tumulus,  166. 
Monuments  over  tombs,  no,  118. 
Monyash,  151. 
Monzie,  in  Perthshire,  61. 
Moor  Divock,  157. 
Moore,  Mr,  407  f. 
Moorhouse,  Mr,  449. 
Moose,  302  ;  vide  also  Elk. 
Moosseedorf,   15  f.,   185,   193,  200  ff. , 

213  f.,  216. 
Moot  Low,  150. 
Morat,  185,  220. 
Moray  Firth,  231. 
Moreton  Bay,  449,  538. 
Morgan,  M.  de,  71. 
Morgan's  Hill,  130. 
Morges,  finds  at,  16  f. ,  36  f,,  49,   186, 

205. 
Morlot,  M.,  27,  41,  43,  187,  228,  305, 

387,  390  f.,  394.411- 
Mortars,  stone,  278,  321  f.,  518. 
Mortillet,  M,,  126,  309,  419. 
Morvan,  367. 

Mouatt,  Dr,  439,  540,  569. 
Moulds,    bronze,    18,   42,  44,  67  ;   for 

bronze  celts,  29  f. ,  49  ;   for  copper, 

253- 
Moulinquignon,  360. 
Mound,  animal,  267  ;   builders   of  N. 

America,  251 ;  burial,  vide  Tumulus  ; 

shell,  vide  Kjokkenmodding. 
Mouse,  205,  236. 


Mouse  Low,  152. 

Moussa,  Burgh  of,  62  f. 

Moustier,  318  f.,  323  ff. 

Mouthe,  La,  328. 

Moxos,  548. 

Miiller,  Dr  Sophus,  71. 

Mundrucus,  555. 

Munich,  59. 

Murcena  anguilla,  235. 

Mus  Jlavicollis ,  236  :  sylvaticus,  203. 

Muscoda,  268. 

Muscogee  Indians,  514,  522. 

Music,   Esquimaux,   506  ;  Maori,  467  ; 

Tahiti,  477. 
Muskingum  River,  261. 
Musk,  ox,    213,    236,    280,  285,    290, 

304   f.,    374,    377,    413,    418,    495  ; 

sheep,  290,  499. 
Musquash,  359. 
Mussel,  233. 
Mustela   erminea,    203  ;    foina,     203  ; 

Intra,  203  ;    martes,  203  ;  putorius, 

203. 
Mycenae,  9,  33,  36. 
Myodes  torquatus,  374,  376. 
Mysore,  141. 
Mytilius  edulis,  233. 

Naas  Castle,  131. 

Nagada,  7. 

Nalicuegas,  526. 

Namaquas,  204. 

Narrowdale  Hill,  151. 

Nassa  reticulata,  234. 

Natchez  Indians,  263,  266,  514,  520. 

Nathusius,  207. 

Naulette,  Trou  de  la,  309. 

Neagh,  Loch,  86  f. 

Neanderthal  skull,  332  ff.,  337. 

Necklet,  of  amber,  153;  bronze,  54,  70; 
gold,  69  f.  ;  jet,  156;  shell,  256; 
teeth,  256. 

Needles,  of  bone,  219,  325,  505  ;  of 
bronze,  18,  40,  47. 

Negritos,  102,  454. 

Negro,  ornaments,  39  ;  tribes,  384  ft., 
454,  548,  556,  574,  581  f. 

Negroid,  races,  386  ;  skull,  336. 

Neilgherry  Hills,  119,  556. 

Neolithic  Age,  2,  73  ff.,  76,  158,  161, 
169,  174,  176  f.,  248,  283,  292,  318, 
338,  355  f. ,  376  ;  animals  of,  210  f.  ; 
skull  of,  145. 

Nephrite,  77,  194. 

Nerbudda,  348. 

Net,  fishing,  544  f.  ;  of  Andaman  Is- 
landers, 439,  545  ;  of  Australian 
natives,  545 ;  of  Esquimaux,  502, 
545  ;  of  Fijians,  457,  545  ;  of  Fue- 


INDEX 


615 


gians,  534  ;  of  Hottentots,  434,  545  ; 
of  lake-dwellers,  198  f.  ;  of  Maories, 
464,  545 ;  of  North  American  Indians, 
518  f.,  545;  of  Tahilians,  473;  of 
Tasmanians,  453 ;  sink  stones  for, 
99  f.,  104,  239  f.,  545  f.,  550. 

Nether  Low,  151. 

Net  Low,  150. 

Netting  rule,  152. 

Neufchatel,  Lake,  10,  15,  18,  37,  39  f., 
47,  90,  185  ff.,  193,  217,  220,  223  f., 

357,  389- 
Neudeckian,  420. 
Neuveville,  390. 
Newark,  Ohio,  260,  273. 
Newatee  Indians,  515. 
New  Caledonia,  86,  88,  386. 
Newcastle,  181. 
New  Grange,  172. 
New  Guinea,  183,  386,  569. 
New  Hebrides,  386,  576. 
New  Inns,  150. 
New  Jersey,  279. 
New  Orleans,  278,  395. 
Newton,  Sir  Isaac,  592. 
New  Zealand,   96   f.,    326,    426,   432, 

488:    adze,    96,    246;    house-burial, 

117. 
New  Zealanders,  see  Maories. 
Niagara,  396. 
Nickel,  24. 

Nicobar  Islanders,  573. 
Nidau,   15  f.,  36,   39,  47,  206,  213  f., 

220. 
Niebelungenlied,2i2,  291,  300  f. 
Niederwyl,  191,  193. 
Nigard  glacier,  386. 
Nile,  8,  106,  340,  392  f.,  410,  428,  557, 
Nilsson,  Prof.,  55,  65,  211,  301,428. 
Ninaquiguila  Indians,  526. 
Nind,  Mr  S.,  451,  567. 
Nixon,  Dr,  453. 
Ncetling,  Dr,  425. 
Nonville,  M.  de,  273. 
Noort,  Van,  528. 
Nootka  Indians,  515,  521. 
Nordmann,  212,  300. 
Norfolk  forest-beds,  299. 
Norman,  Mr  H.  J.,  345. 
Northfleet,  334. 
Northumberland,  157. 
Norway,  62,  296,  398,  595. 
Nott,  Mr,  487. 
Noville,  205. 
Nuclei  of  flints,  15. 
Numbers  and  numerals,  567. 
Nussdorf,  16. 
Nuts  in  lake-villages,  190. 
Nyambanas,  587. 


Nydam,  10,  12 ff.,  595, 
Nystuen,  296. 

Oak-tree,  248,  366,  387. 

Oats,  216,  218  f. 

Oberea's  mound  in  Tahiti,  167,  543. 

Obermeilen,  180. 

Obsidian,  75,  77  f.,  82,  84,  86  f.,  355, 

518  f.,  550. 
Ocean  currents,  effect  on  climate,  401, 
Offa's  Dyke,  76,  112. 
Ogham  alphabet,  596. 
Ohio,  ancient  works  in,  256  f. ,  269  ff. , 

276,  522, 
Oise  valley,  367,  369,  374. 
Old  Bewick,  157. 
Oldfield,  Mr,  442,  447,  585,  587. 
Oligocene  period,  416. 
Oliver,  Lieut.,  135. 
Olsen,  M.,  230,  247. 
Ontonagon,  252,  275, 
"  Ooloo  "  of  Esquimaux,  98. 
Oonalaska,  492,  509. 
Opossum,  255,  430. 
Orbigny,  M.  C.  d',  370  f. 
Oregon,  514. 
Orissa,  39. 
Orkney,  62  f.,  202,  297  ;  stone  circles 

in,  121  ;  tumuli,  108,  595. 
Orleans,  367. 
Ornamentation,  19;  of  Bronze  Age,  19, 

23.  44,  46. 
Ornaments,    American,    250   ff.,     272; 

bronze,    3,   16,  25,    38    f.,  47,   222; 

gold,    25,  45;  iron,    16,    25,    53;  of 

Brazilians,   543  ;   of  Esquimaux,  505  ; 

of  Hottentots,  433  ;  of  Maories,  465  ; 

of  Patagonians,    529  ;    of  Tahitians, 

475;   tumuli,  114,  142,  148. 
Orthocephalic  skulls,  145. 
Ostrea  edulis,  233. 
Oswolde's  Hloew,  124. 
Otaheite,  167. 
Otter,  213,  236,  255,  359. 
Oural  Mountains,  108,  295. 
Ouse,  363. 
Over  Haddon,  151. 
Ovibus  moschatus,  236,  280. 
Ovifak  iron,  7. 
Ovis  aries,  203. 
Owen,  Prof.,  206,  288,  291,  293,  302, 

439,  544- 

Owl,  255,  302. 

Owners'  marks,  13. 

Ox,  57,  178,  208,  296,  310,  312,  314, 
320 ;  domesticated  with  modern 
savages,  434,  551  ;  races  of,  209  ff.  ; 
sacrifice  of.  175;  in  Bible,  206;  in 
drift  gravels,  346,  358  ;  in  Kjcikken- 


6i6 


PREHISTORIC  TIMES 


moddings,  236,  246  ;  in  lake-villages, 
199  flF.,  215,  543;   in   tumuli,    174, 

245- 
Oysters,  211,  233  f.,  245,  322. 

Paalstab  or  Paalstave,  29. 

"  Packwerkbauten,"  187. 

Peeonians,  180,  191. 

Paint  as  personal  adornment,  449. 

Palaeolithic  Age,  2,  73  ff.,  76,  158, 
177  f-.  338,  550;  antiquity  of,  411  ; 
fauna,  280  ff  ,  374  ff.  ;  implements, 
79,  146,  279,  346  ff.,  419,  421  f.  : 
Indian,  343,  347  f.  ;  industries,  420. 

Palestine,  106. 

Palgrave,  i. 

Pallas,  207. 

Palmer,  121. 

Panama,  399. 

Panicum  miliaceum,  218. 

Pankhos,  428. 

Pannonia,  50. 

Panther,  255. 

Papuans,  576. 

Paraguay  Indians,  525  ff.,  555,  586. 

Pararauate  Indians,  581. 

Parcelly  Hay,  151. 

Parchim,  59. 

Parkyns,  428. 

Parma,  218. 

Parricide,  243,  459,  487. 

Parry,  Capt.,  490,  492  f.,  496,  499, 
502  f.,  505,  511. 

Pass,  Mr,  130. 

Pastinaca  sativa,  218. 

Pastoral  life  in  Bronze  Age,  57. 

Patagonians,  527  ff.,  539,  548  f.,  561, 
585  ;  burial,  530  ;  dress,  528  f.  ; 
dwellings,  528  ;  food,  530  ;  religion, 
531  ;  weapons,  527,  529. 

Patoo-patoo,  466. 

Pauilhaic,  84. 

Pausanias,  123. 

Payajuas,  540, 

Peas,  217. 

Peatmosses,  ioff.,99,  190,  227,  283, 
291,  293,  299,  376  f.,  387. 

Peck,  Captain,  275. 

Peckham,  291. 

Pedlars,  48. 

Pellew  Islands,  570. 

Pemmican,  523. 
Penck,  420. 
Pendants,  14. 
Pengelly,  Mr,  232,  311. 
Penpits,  76. 
Pentateuch,  5. 
Percy,  Dr,  6. 
Periwinkle,  233. 


Perkins,  Mr,  252. 

Persia,  386. 

Perte  du  Rhone,  194. 

Peschiera,  181. 

Peter's  Island,  218. 

Petrie,  Mr  G. ,  121. 

Pey  de  I'Aze,  318  f, 

Pfahlbauten,  vide  Lake-villages. 

Pfeffikon  lake,  185,  217. 

Philippines,  102,  386. 

PhiUips,  Prof.,  31 1. 

Phoca  sp.,  236. 

Phoenician,  65,  271. 

Pickering,  153. 

Picquigny,  22,  381. 

Pick,  deer-horn,  79  f. 

Picts'  houses,  61,  76,  143. 

Picture-writing,  271. 

Piette,  M.,  337. 

Pig>  57,  174.  178,  478,  545  f-,  vide  also 
Boar  ;  genealogy  of,  206  f.  ;  in  lake- 
villages,  199  ff.,  214  f. ,  543  ;  not  in 
Kjokkenmoddings,  236. 

Pigorini,  Prof.,  59,  182. 

Piles  for  lake-dwellings,  180  ff. 

Pillows  of  earthenware,  222  f. 

Piltdown  skull,  337. 

Pincers,  bronze,  162. 

Pine-tree  in  Denmark,  248,  366,  387. 

Pins,    bone,    103,    149   ff. ,    166,    240; 
bronze,  17  f. ,  39  f. ,  42,  47  f.,   133, 
i5off. ,  162,  220,  223,  231  f  ;  double- 
pointed,  47  ;  gold,  69  ;  iron,  152. 
Pipes,   Hottentot,  435  ;  North   Ameri- 
can, 255,  267,  519. 
Pisum  sativum,  218. 
Pithecanthropos  erectus,  337  f. 
Pleistocene  period,  416. 
Pleuronectes  litiiada,  235. 
Pliny,  56,  66,  221,  300,  551. 
Pliocene  period,  416,  420  f.,  423. 

Plum,  217. 

Plutarch,  24. 

Plymstock,  70. 

Pocohontas,  575. 

Podiceps  minor,  205. 

Poitiers,  81. 

Poland,  299,  331. 

Polar  ice-cap,  404  ff. 

Polecat,  215,  315. 

Polished  stone  implements,  89. 

Polisher,  sandstone,  150. 

Polygamy,  516  ;  vide  Marriage. 

Polynesia,  106,  385,  454  ff. 

Pompeii,  23. 

Pont  de  Thiele,  17  f.,  198,  390  f. 

Pont  de  I'Arche,  367. 

Pont  de  Remy,  380. 

Pontlevoy,  425. 


INDEX 


617 


Ponzi,  295. 
Poole,  Mr,  581. 
Porcelain,  153. 
Porphyry,  77  f. 
Porpoise,  236. 
Porlman,  570. 
Portugal,  166. 

Potter  Brompton  Wold,  155. 
Potter's  wheel,  18,  171,  223,  255,  456. 
Pottery,  9,   11,   15,  18  f.,  25,  58  f.,  69, 
71,    103,    128,    189,    193,  282,  323, 
326,    389    f.,    544;    domestic,    171; 
forms  of,   169   ff.  ;    of  Bronze   Age, 
222 ;  of  cave  men,  380,    330,    543  ; 
of  Egyptians,  393  ;  of  lake-dwellings, 
193  f.,   197  ff.  ;  of  modern  savages, 
438  f.,  443,  456,  463,  477  f.,  492  f., 
528,  536.  546  ff.,  552,  579  f-.  545; 
of    shell-mounds,    232,    240  ff'.  ;   of 
tumuli,     147    f.,     150    ff".,    163    ff"., 
177  ff.  ;  ornamentation,  19,   169  ff".  ; 
pipes,  255  f. 
Pouance,  426. 
Pourtalis,  Count,  278. 
Prairie  du  Chien,  267. 
Precy,  367,  373. 

Prehistoric  divisions  of  archaeology,  2  f. 
Preservation    of    ancient    monuments, 

179. 
Pressigny  le  Grand,  77,  81,  106,  309. 
Prestwich,  Sir  J.,  233,  305,  341,  352, 

360,  362  f.,  370,  373  f.,  378,  417. 
Prichard,  Dr,  383. 
Prong  with  ring,  48. 
Prunus padus,  217. 
Prussia,  212,  284. 
Ptarmigan,  320. 
Punic  War,  22. 
Purupuru  Indians,  445,  548. 
Putorius  vulgaris,  315. 
Pyramids,  Egyptian,  8,  71,   109,   581  ; 
Mexican,    262 ;     North     American, 
262  ;  Tahilian,  483,  543. 
Pyrus  malus,  218. 

Quartzite,  347. 
Quatrefages,  M.,  210. 
Quern,  74. 
Quipa  of  the  Peruvians,  271. 

Rabbit,  359. 

Racoon,  255,  267,  359. 

Rae,  Dr,  360,  495,  498,  510  ff". 

Rakes,  11. 

Rakiraki,  556. 

Rames,  M.,  426. 

Rameses  II.,  392. 

Ramesseum,  56. 

Ramorino,  Prof.,  424. 


Ramsauer,  M. ,  29. 

Ramsay,  Prof.,  311,  351. 

Ransom,  Dr,  285. 

Rapier,  3c. 

Raratonga,  569. 

Raspberry,  217. 

Rat,  205,  236. 

Raths,  64. 

Raven,  256. 

Ravenscliff  in  Gower,  291. 

Razor,  bronze,   18,  70;  knives,  37  ff., 

43  f-.  46,  53.  55  ;  obsidian,  75. 
Read,  Sir  C.  H,,  71,  420. 
Reallon,  16,  17,  19. 
Regnoli,  M.,  282,  295,  339. 
Reid,  Mr  Clement,  343. 
Reindeer,  145,  174,  177,  211,  236,  280, 
285,  291,  295  ff.,  305,  312,  315  ff., 
319  f.,  327  f.,  330,  358,  366,  375  ff., 
418,  495,  497,  502,  541  ;  distribution 
of,    29,    62,    97;   period,    103,    281, 
309,  318,  419. 
Religion  and   science,   591  ;   of  Anda- 
man  Islanders,    440 ;    of  American 
mound- builders,  263  ;   of  Australian 
natives,  450 ;  of  Esquimaux,  507  ;  of 
Fijians,  455,  458  ;  of  Fuegians,  531, 
535  ;  of  Hottentots,  436;  of  Maories, 
468 ;  of  North  American  Indians,  515; 
of  Paraguayans,  526  ;  of  Patagonians, 
531  ;  of  savages,  568  ff.  ;  of  Tahitians, 
474;  of  Tasmanians,  453. 
Rengger,  578. 
Reptiles,  199,  205. 
Resort,  Loch,  62. 
Reuss  valley,  409. 
Rhine,  292,  374. 

Rhinoceros     antiquitatis,    289 ;    hetni- 
tachus,   280,    288,  291,    314  ;   lepto- 
rhinus,    280,    287     ff. ,     305,    423  ; 
Megarhinus,  288,  290,  375  ;  Alerkii, 
288,    290;    perivtenns,    425;    ticho- 
rhinus,    280,    287,  290   f.,    308,  312, 
315,  366,  375,  418  ff.  ;  woolly-haired, 
2,  211  ff.,  280  f.,  287  ff.,  296,  304  f., 
310,   316  f ,   346,   350,   358,  360  ff., 
376  f.,  425,  434. 
Rhone,  188,  213,  410. 
Ribden  Low,  152. 
Ribe,  51. 
Rice,  523. 

Richardson,  506,  519,  523,  563. 
Richborough,  20. 
Riddle,  Dr,  395. 
Rigollot,  Dr,  341. 

Rings,  bronze,  17  f.,  39,  47,  220,  433  ; 
copper,  433  ;  earthenware,  17,  197, 
222  ;  gold,  52  ;  ivory,  433  ;  of  Iron 
Age,  224  ;  silver,  153. 


6i8 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


Rivers,  Gen.  Pitt,  57,  97,  108. 

Rivers,  submarine  valleys,  414  ff. 

Rivets,  31,  45,  48. 

Riviere,  M. ,  328. 

Robenhausen,  50,  191,  198  ff.,  213  ft'., 
216. 

Robinson,  Mr,  454. 

Rochebrune,  M.,  137. 

Rock,  crystals,  194  ;  drawings,  442  ; 
dwellings,  318  ;  river,  261  ;  sculp- 
tures in  India,  173  f.  :  in  Scotland, 
172  f.  ;  shelters,  318. 

Rocky  Mountains,  257, 

Roddinge,  107. 

Roedeer,  213,  315,  358  ;  in  Kjokken- 
moddings,  235 ;  in  lake-villages, 
200  ff. ,  215. 

Rogers,  W.,  539. 

RoUeston,  Dr,  108,  145,  177. 

Rollrich  stones,  119. 

Rolls,  Mr,  349. 

Roman,  barley,  216;  coins,  12,  14  f., 
20  ;  influence  on  Bronze  Age,  65  ; 
inscriptions,  14  ;  lake  -  dwellings, 
185  ;  museums,  23,  49  ;  pottery,  171  ; 
relics,  15,  20,  58,  128;  road  at  Ave- 
bury,   129  f.  ;    swords,  9,    22  ;   wall, 

"3.  132- 
Rosehill,  Lord,  61. 
Ross,    Admiral  Sir  John,  494  f. ,  497, 

502  ff.,  508,  510  f.,  557,  571  ;  County, 

75;  Sir  J.  C,  499. 
Rostrevor  Down,  32. 
Roth,  H.  L..  352,  453. 
Rouen,  367. 
Rougemont,  M.,  58. 
Round  Towers,  58. 
Rudston,  156. 
Runes,  11,  14,  271,  595. 
Rusden  Low,  151. 

Russia,  108,  212,  282,  2S5,  294,  299. 
Rutherford,  54:1. 
Riitimeyer,  Dr,   174,  199  ff.,  236,  293, 

300,  304,  320,  358,  423. 
Rutot,  Dr,  420,  422. 
Rutupise,  20. 
Rye,  216,  218  f. 

Saavedra,  552. 

Sacken,  M.  von,  168. 

Sacred    enclosures    of    America,    250, 

259  f. 
Sacrifice,  dog,  175  ;  horse,  175  ;  human 

176,  460  f.,  468;  oxen,  175  ;  weapons, 

etc.,  176. 
Safety-pin,  38. 
Sagas,  124. 
Sahara,  386,  401  f. 
Saiga  antelope,  293,  302. 


Saintaft,  153. 

St  Acheul,  341,  349,  357  f.,  363  f.,  366, 

374,  381,  419- 
St  Amand,  367. 
St  John,  Lieut. ,  440. 
St  Lawrence,  Gulf  of,  522. 
St  Prest,  423. 
St  Roch,  375. 
St  Valery,  232,  363. 
Salisbury  Plain,  131  f.,  160. 
Salley  Hill  skull,  334. 
Salonica,  182. 
Salt,  233. 
Saltley,  347. 
Salzburg,  26. 
Samoans,  456,  520,  569. 
Sanchee,  137. 
Sand,  casting  in,  42. 
Sandals,  10,  14. 
Sandwich,  20. 

Sandwich  Islanders,  557,  564. 
Sanford,  M.;  284  f. 
Santander,  281,  328. 
Santones,  300. 
Sarasin,  182,  438. 
Sarcens,  131,  133. 
Sardinian,  64, 
Saulcy,  M.  de,  135,  300. 
Saussurite,  77. 
Sautuola,  M.  de,  328. 
Savages  of  modern  times,  427  ff.  ;  their 

skill,  539. 
Savigne,  328. 
Savonia,  212. 
Saws,  bronze,  18,  40,  47  ;  flint,  15,  82, 

97  f.,  102,  158,  194,  322. 
Saxons,  20,  24,  150  ff. 
Saxony,  49,  212. 
Scandinavia,  40,  62,  66,  72,  173,   177, 

212,  284  f.,  290,  347,  414,   595   f.  ; 

vide  also  Denmark,  Norway,  Sweden. 
Scania,  173. 
Scarborough,  142. 
Scars  as  adornment,  vide  Tattooing. 
Schaafhausen,  333,  556. 
Schelch,  292. 
Schlegel,  204. 
Schliemann,  71. 
Schmerling,  Dr,   308  f. ,  334. 
Schoolcraft,   140,  142,  250,  253  f. ,  265, 

271,  427,  512  ff,  521  ff,  574,  585. 
Schtitz,  M.,  207. 
Schwab,  Col.,  17,  36  ff.,  220  ff. 
Schwendener,  Prof.,  424. 
Schwerin,  44. 
Scioto  river,  260,  273. 
Scitirus  europceus,  203. 
Scotland,  2S4,  290,  296  ff.,  301,  412, 
596  ;  ancient  dwellings  in,  61  :  forti- 


INDEX 


619 


fications  in,  no,  262  ;  bronze 
weapons  in,  49,  66 ;  cairns,  142 ; 
iron  swords  in,  9  ;  lake-dwellings  in, 
181  ;  lake  worship  in,  222  ;  quater- 
nary fauna,  280  ff.  ;  rock  engravings 
in,  126. 

Scrapers,  bone,  196 ;  stone,  45,  74, 
93  ff.,  104  f.,  129,  148  f.,  155,  158, 
166,  322,  348  f.,  422  f.,  497,  505. 

Screws,  crutch-headed,  48. 

Scrip  Low,  152. 

Scythians,  123. 

Sea-cow,  78. 

Seal,  211,  236,  243,  246. 

Sea-level,  change  of,  412  f. 

Secale  cereale,  218. 

Seeland,  88  f. 

Seemann,  B.,  455, 

Seine,  340,  360,  363,  365  ff.,  369,  399, 

Selsea  Mill,  423. 

Selsertown  mound,  273. 

Semiramis,  56. 

Sempach,  185,  220. 

Seneca,  300. 

Sepulchral  feasts,  175  ;  mounds,  see 
Tumulus  ;  vide  also  Burial, 

Serpent-mounds,  267,  270. 

Serpentine,  355. 

Serval,  314. 

Set  aria  italic  a,  218. 

Sevenoaks,  346. 

Sharpe  Low,  151. 

Shawl,  53,  55,  58. 

Sheep,  57,  174  ;  in  Bible,  206  ;  of  Kjok- 
kenmoddings,  236  ;  of  lake-villages, 
199  ff.,  214  f ,  543  ;  of  modern 
savages,  434. 

Sheldon,  150. 

Shellfish,  242,  302  ;  vide  also  Oyster. 

Shell-mounds,  of  Andaman  Islanders, 
232  ;  of  Australians,  232,  441  ;  of 
Cornwall,  232  ;  of  Denmark,  vide 
Kjokkenmciddings  ;  of  France,  232  ; 
of  Japan,  97,  232  ;  of  Malay  Pen- 
insula, 232  ;  of  New  Zealand,  465  ; 
of  Scotland,  231  ;  of  South  Africa, 
232 ;  of  South  America,  232  ;  of 
Tasmania,  232. 

Sherburn  Wold,  155. 

Shetland  Isles,  62  f.,  202,  576,  596. 

Shield.  10,  II. 

Ship  or  boat,  1 1. 

Shirley,  184. 

Shirt,  53  ff. 

Shortland,  556. 

Shortt,  Dr,  570. 

Shoshonees,  518  f.,  523. 

Shovel,  wood,  254. 

Shrub  Hill  gravel,  349. 


Shuttle,  56. 

Shuttlestone,  151. 

Siam,  207,  386. 

Siberia,  28,  108,  212,  282,  285,  287, 
.  290,  29s,  302,  490,  576. 

Siberian  yourts,  114. 

Sichuana  language,  557. 

Sicily,  284,  290,  312. 

Sickles,  bronze,  16,  18,  36,  47,  69,  220, 
222  ;  iron,  224. 

Silbury  Hill,  109,  114,  123,  126  flf. 

Silene  ere  tic  a,  217  f. 

Silesia,  77. 

Silver,  3,  14,  19,  23,  27,  41,  251  ; 
needle,   150  ;  ornaments,  14. 

Simpson,  Mr,  496. 

Simpson,  Sir  G.,  585. 

Simpson,  Sir  J.  Y.,  12^,  172. 

Sinai,  copper-mine,  7,  71  ;  stone  circle, 
121  f. 

Sinde,  183. 

Sink  stones  for  lines,  95  ;  for  nets,  99. 

Sioux,  517,  524. 

Skeleton,  of  horse,  21  ;  of  man,  21,  92, 
114,  150  ff.,  162  ff.,  219,  223,  241, 
274,  278,  314. 

Skertchly,  Mr,  349,  412. 

Skov-mose,  387. 

Skull,  of  Australians,  337 ;  brachy- 
cephalic,  145  ff.,  l63f.,  272 ;  Calaveras, 
278 ;  Chancellade,  332,  335  ;  Cromag- 
non,  332,  334 ;  dolichocephalic, 
145  ff.,  338,  360;  Engis,  334,  335, 
583  ;  European,  337  ;  Gibraltar, 
334  ■>  gorilla,  337  ;  kumbecephalic, 
144  ;  La  Chapelle,  334,  336  ;  lake- 
dwellings,  220;  long,  144,  177,  338; 
of  long-barrows,  144  f.,  177  f .  ; 
Monaco,  336;  Neanderthal,  332  ff., 
337  ;  North  American  Indians,  514  ; 
orthocephalic,  145  ff.  ;  Piltdown, 
337  ;  Pithecanthropus  erectus,  337  ; 
round,  144,  177,  241,  389  ;  of  round- 
barrows,  144,  177  ;  Salley  Hill, 
334;  Spy,  334;  Stone  Age,  146, 
241. 

Skyring,  538. 

Slate,  77. 

Slesvick,  ID. 

Slingstones,  74,  99,   104,   149,   193  ff., 

^  229,  239  f.,  247,  477,  544  f.,  580. 

Slip  Low,  151. 

Sliper  Low,  150. 

Sloth,  430. 

Smelting,  6,  435. 

Smerrill,  152 

Smith,  Prof.  Elliot,  337. 

Smith,  Mr  Worthington,  422. 

Smith,  J.  A.,  297  f 


620 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


Snake  Indians,  518. 

Society  Islands,  470,  482,  487,  545  ff., 

556. 
SogneQord,  386. 
Soldering,  43,  45. 
Sollas,  Prof.,  335. 
Solo,  183. 

Solomon  Islands,  569. 
Solutre,  293,  419,  420. 
Solway  Moor,  89. 
Somals,  556. 
Somaliland,  106. 
Somme  valley,  182,  240,  282,  340,  342, 

349,  357,  360  f.,  363,  366,  372,  376, 

378  ff,  396,  399,  4". 
Somo  Somo,  556. 
Sorcery,  vide  Witchcraft. 
Southall,  Mr,  279,  376. 
South  Sea  Islanders,  540,  549  ff.,  560  ff,, 

573,  580. 
Spain,  50,  281  {.,  285,  290,  295,  301, 

313  f-,  361. 
Sparrman,  M.,  433,  435  f. 
Sparrow,  235. 
Spatula,  43. 

Spear-heads,  vide  Lance. 
Speke,  428,  557. 
Spencer,  Herbert,  593. 
Spencer,  Prof. ,  400,  452. 
Spermophilus  rufescens,  293,  330. 
Spiennes,  80. 
Spilbergen,  528. 
Spinning,  579  f. 

Spinning  whorls,  17,  194  f.,  199. 
Spitzbergen,  297. 
Spix,  557,  562,  566,  568. 
Spurrell,  Mr,  345  i. 

Spy,  334- 
Spynie  loch,  231. 
Squier,  Mr  E.  G.,  77,  121,  250  ff. 
Squirrel,  225. 
Staffordshire,  159. 
Stag,  vide  Deer. 
Staigue  Fort,  Kerry,  64,  597. 
Stakor,  152. 
Stanbridge,  539. 
Standing-stones,  vide  Menhirs. 
Stanley,  Hon.  W.  O.,  60,  121. 
Stanton,  153. 
Stanton  Drew,  119,  131. 
Statue,  bronze,  24. 
Steele,  556. 

Steenstrup,    Prof.,    95,    99,    105,    174, 
227  ff.,  234  ff ,  244  ff ,  387,  423,  541. 
Steinbergs,  187, 
Stennis,  119,  131,  595. 
Stephens,  Prof.,  595. 
Stiles,  Rev.  Dr,  271. 
Stockholm,  36,  74. 


Stocks  of  bronze,  68. 

Stokestown,  184. 

Stoliczka,  Dr,  232. 

Stone  Age,  2,  3,  18  f,,  51,  62,  73  ft., 
93,  125,  130,  144,  146,  159,  177  f., 
186,  195  f.,  340  ff.,  354  ff ,  389,  427, 
430,  470,  505,  542  ff.  ;  animals  of, 
209  ff.,  280  ft.  ;  antiquity  of,  390  ; 
burial  in,  161  ff.,  168  ;  flora  of,  217  f.  ; 
lake-dwellings  of,  185,  187  ff.  ;  men 
of,  242  ;  in  North  America,  251  ff. 

Stone,  avenues,  135  ;  chambers,  vide 
Dolmens  ;  circles,  vide  Cromlechs  ; 
heaters,  323,  434,  494,  518  ;  imple- 
ments, 5,  18,  25,  68,  72  ff. ,  103, 
240  ff. ,  322  :  materials  for,  76  f.  : 
polished,  73  ff.,  282,  331  :  similarity 
of,  66  :  from  tumuli,  145,  147,  150  ff., 
159  ff.  ;  moving  large,  139;  rows, 
135  ;  use  of,  73  ff.  ;  in  various  lan- 
guages 139;  weapons,  15,  73  ff., 
240  ff. 

Stonehenge,  64,  69,  114,  120  f.,  126, 
130,  132  ff.,  137  f.,  160;  date  of, 
131  ;  derivation  of  name,  131. 

Stork,  235,  320. 

Strabo,  66,  221,  555. 

Straw,  199. 

Strawberry,  217. 

Strix  aluco,  205  ;  bubo,  205  ;  nivea, 
302  ;  olzis,  205. 

Strobel,  M.,   182. 

Stuart,  Mr,  21,  447. 

Studs  or  buttons  of  bronze,  40,  54. 

Stukely,  126,  130. 

Sturnus  vulgaris,  205. 

Submersion,  of  America,  399,  405  ; 
of  Europe,  405,  413  ff. 

Suffolk,  343. 

Sumatra,  386,  558. 

Superior,  Lake,  4,  75,  77,  251,  253,  255, 
266. 

Surnam,  555. 

Sus,  indica,  207  ;  palustris,  203,  207  f.  ; 
scrofa  donieslicus,  203  ;  scrofa  ferns , 
203,  235,  315  :  vittatus,  207. 

Sussex,  380,  423, 

Suter,  Col,  187,  191,  193. 

Sutherland,  298. 

Suttee,  176. 

Sutz,  220. 

Swallow,  235,  256. 

Swan,  205,  235,  238. 

Swansea,  Lord,  7. 

Sweden,  23,  36,  41,  62,  211,  291,  296, 

299,301,375,595-. 
Switzerland,  387  ;  animals  in,   174  ft., 
178,  294;  antiquities  in,   10,    14  f. , 
19  f-,  37,  40,  76,   180  ft'.,  298,  vide 


INDEX 


621 


also  Lake-dwellings  ;  bronze  weapons 
in,  49  ff.  ;  fabrics  in,  50  ;  Glacial 
periods  in,  411  f.  ;  man  in,  176  f.  ; 
stone  implements,  77,  94. 

Sword,  belt,  10  ;  bronze,  18,  21  ff,,  35 
ff-.  47.  54  f..  66  f.,  70,  72,  162,  220 ; 
hilt,  14,  35,  39;  iron,  3,  9  ff.,  24, 
27,  30.  35.  152,  224  ;  Roman,  22  ; 
sheath,  10,  14,  54  f.  ;  two-handed, 
10;  wooden,  158. 

Sydney,  N.S.W.,  442. 

Syria,  7, 

Tables,  198. 

Taboo,  117,  467. 

Tacitus,  9,  124,  221,  292. 

Taddington,  152. 

Tagus,  414. 

Tahiti,  431,  465,  468,  470 ff.,  543,  554, 
556,  558,  566  ;  burial,  483  ;  canoes, 
476 ;  clothes,  474  f.  ;  cooking,  479  ; 
food,  478  ;  houses,  476  ;  implements, 
471  ;  marriage,  485  ;  ornaments, 
475  ;  pottery,  477  ;  religion,  484  ; 
weapons,  477. 

Tana,  588. 

Tankerville  Park  wild  cattle,  211. 

Taplin,  Mr,  444. 

Taplow,  124. 

Tapu,  vide  Taboo. 

Tardy,  M.,  425. 

Tarianas,  553. 

Tasman,  427. 

Tasmanians,  177,  352,  386,  422,  452  ff., 

544,  551,    553,  565  f-,  588. 
Tate,  172. 
Tattooing,  440,  448  f.,  458,  465,  476, 

506,  513,  559,  587  f. 
Taylor,  Meadows,  139  f.  ;  R.   C,  267  ; 

S.,  117;  R.,  96,  467  f. 
Tcherkask,  183. 
Tekeenica,  534. 
Temesvar,  50. 
Temple  mounds,  250,  266. 
Temples  developed  from  tomb,  118, 
Tennant,  Sir  J.  E.,  437. 
Tents,  242  ;  vide  also  Dwelling. 
Tertre,  539. 
Testut,  M.,335. 
Tetrao    albits,     302  ;    bonasius,     205  ; 

lagopus,  205  ;  itrogallus,  235. 
Textile  fabrics,  vide  Fabric.-^. 
Thames,  340,  345  f.,  374,  416. 
Thebes,  37,  56. 
The  Low,  150, 
Thetford,  181. 

Thomsen,  Prof.,  6,  227,  229. 
Thonon,  190. 
Thornclift",  152. 


Thorsbjerg  find,  14,  595. 

Throwing-stick,  326,  444  f.,  499,  545, 
547  f.,  580. 

Throwley,  152. 

Thunbcrg,  433,  435  f. 

Thumam,  Dr,  47,  144  f. 

Tibeto-Burman  tribes,  117. 

Tiefenau,  10,  224. 

Tierra  del  Fuego,  loi,  527,  531. 

Tilhuggersteens,  99. 

Tin,  3f.,  7,  23,  27,  45,  49,  69,  252; 
button,  54  ;  distribution,  9,  49  f.  ; 
implements,  4  ;  nails,  55. 

Tinder,  197. 

Tiniere,  cone  of,  387  ff.,  394. 

Tinne  Indians,  517,  557,  562. 

Tissues,  vide  Fabrics. 

Todas,  119,  556. 

Tomahawk,  91  ff. 

Tombs,  vide  Burial,  Tumuli, 

Tombstones,  vide  Menhirs. 

Tonga  Islanders,  461,  488,  556,  564. 

Tool-stones,  99. 

Torfaeus,  64,  297  f. 

Torque,  bronze,  54,  70  ;  gold,  51,  69. 

Torquemada,  86. 

Torres  Straits,  117, 

Totem,  574. 

Toupinambas,  568. 

Tournal,  308. 

Tours,  81. 

Transition  period  from  bronze  to  iron, 
5,  26. 

Trapa  nutans,  217  f. 

"Treasure"  finds,  19,  68. 

Treenhoi,  51 

Trigonella  plana,  234. 

Tripoli,  121. 

Tristram,  401, 

Triticutn  dicoccum,  218;  monococcttnt, 
218  ;  spelta,  218 ;  (urgidiim,  216, 
218  ;  vulgare  antiquorum,  218  ; 
vulgare  compacluin  imiticuDi,  218. 

Trojan  War,  5,  123. 

Troyon,  183,  186,  189,  193,  197, 
222  ff. 

Trumpets,  bronze,  70. 

Tschuktschi,  1 14,  566. 

Tucanos,  553, 

Tumulus,  61,  75  ff.,  103,  107  ff.,  117 
ff.,  132,  135,  141  ff.,  148  f ,  226,  283, 
293,  296,  300,  356,  508  ;  Algeria, 
138  ;  Bronze  Age,  55  ;  burial  in,  54, 
113,  135,  141,  '77  ;  chambered,  163  ; 
dwellings  in,  117,  163;  Esquimaux, 
508  ;  Indian,  137  ;  mammalia  of, 
145  ;  North  American,  264  ff. ,  272, 
357'  525  ;  <jf  Odin,  Thor,  and  Freya, 
109,   III  ;    periods   of,    158   f,    161  ; 


622 


PREHISTORIC   TIMES 


Stone  Age,  125  f.,  144,  244  ;  Tahiti, 
483;  Treenhoi,  51  ;  Wiltshire,  47, 
132, 

Tundra  species,  293,  302. 

Turbarian,  Upper  and  Lower,  420. 

Turk,  557. 

Turner,  576. 

Turtle  mounds,  267,  269. 

Tweezers,  10,  14,  54,  389. 

Twine  found,  218. 

Tylor,  Mr,  380  f.,  479,  552  f.,  579. 

Tyndall,  Prof ,  130,  397. 

Tyre,  121. 

Tyrol,  212. 

Uckfield,  337. 

Uhlmann,  M.,  389, 

Uig,  62. 

Ulloa,  558. 

Umiak,  503  f. 

Upsala,  109. 

Urn-burial,  57,  58,  60,  147,  150  fif., 
162  ff.,  169,  222. 

Ursus,  312  ;  arctos,  203,  236,  283,  312, 
315  ;  ferox,  283,  312  ;  p7-iscus,  280  ; 
spelcBus,  280,  282  f.,  312,  315  f.,  375. 

Urus,  280,  292,  300  ff.,  377  ;  domesti- 
cated, 210  f  ;  in  Kjcikkenmoddings, 
236  f.  ;  in  lake-dwellings,  202,  209 
ff.,  215. 

Urville,  Dumont  d',  183,  448,  450,  464, 

467.  470,  483.  544,    556,  559,  563, 

588. 
Usher,  Dr,  278,  383. 
Utica,  66. 

Vaca,  De,  522. 

Valais,  212  f. 

Val  d'Arno,  288. 

Val  de  Travers,  194. 

Vallency,  Colonel,  271. 

Valley,  bed  strata,  366,  376 ;  erosion, 

365,  373,  410 ;  submarine  river,  414  ff. 
Vancouver  Island,  513,  515,  585. 
Vanderkamp,  572. 
Van  Diemensland,  vide  Tasmanians. 
Vanikoro,  564. 
Vase,    149,    150   ff.  ;   American,   255  ; 

wood,  55  ;  vide  also  Food  Vases. 
Vatavula,  557. 
Veddahs,  435,  437  ff.,  558- 
Veert,  S.  de,  528. 
Vega,  G.  de  la,  266. 
Vegetation,  rotation  of,  387. 
Venezuela,  183. 
Venice,  183. 

Venus  aurea,  234  ;  pullastra,  234. 
Verneau,  336. 
Verstegan,  363. 


Vesalius,  514. 

Veyrier,  320. 

Vibraye,  Marquis  de,  339. 

Vilelas,  540. 

Villees,  570. 

Villeneuve,  387  f. 

Vimose,  14. 

Vincent  Knoll,  151  f. 

Vine,  the,  217. 

Vinland,  271. 

Virchow,  146. 

Vigil,  123,  221. 

Virginia,  121. 

Vivarais,  368. 

Vivian,  Mr,  310  f.  ;  Sir  H.  H.,  7, 

Volga,  331. 

Waganda,  428. 

Wahuma,  557. 

Wales,  113,  139,  202,  296. 

Walhouse,  Mr,  141. 

Wall,  Roman,  113,  132. 

Wallace,  540,  542,  553,  568,  570,  583. 

Wallis,  Captain,  478  f.,  481,  532,  544. 

Walnut,  217. 

Walton,  291. 

Wampum,  271. 

Wangen,    15   f.,   191,   193   f.,   196   ff., 

214  fif.,  357. 
Wansdyke,  76,  112. 
Wanumbai,  570. 
Wanyambo,  428. 
Wanyameuzi,  554. 
Warcop,  157. 
Ward,  576. 
Warne,  108. 
Warren,  Mr,  345. 
Warslow,  152. 

Water,  gravel  carried  by,  372. 
Watton,  144. 
Waukesha,  269. 
Wauwyl,   16  f.,   187,   191    ff.,  200   ff., 

213  ff. 

Waveney,  340,  363. 

Wax,  casting  with,  43. 

Waxsaw  Indians,  514. 

Weapons,  of  Andaman  Islanders,  439  ; 
of  Australian  natives,  443  ff.  ;  of 
bone,  541  ;  of  bronze,  65  ff.  ;  of 
Esquimaux,  499,  510 ;  of  Fijians, 
454  f.  ;  ofFuegians,  532;  of  Hotten- 
tots, 434  ;  of  iron,  75  ;  of  Maories, 
466 ;  of  North  Americans,  251, 
518;  of  Patagonians,  527,  529;  of 
savages,  541,  544  f.,  547,  549,  580  ; 
of  stone,  73  ff.,  498  f. ,  540  f.  ;  of 
Tahitians,  477;  of  tumuH,  114;  of 
Veddahs,  437  ;  vide  also  Arrow, 
Axe,  Dagger,  Lance,  Sword. 


INDEX 


623 


Weasel,  213. 

Weaverthorpe,  156. 

Weaving,  56,  195,  543. 

Wedges,  flint,  73,  88  ff.,  162  f. 

W^eems,  61,  76,  143. 

Weights  for  fishing-lines,  94  ;  for  nets, 
99  {..  104. 

Weissgrund,  192. 

Wells  (Somerset),  317. 

Welton,  150. 

West  Buckland,  70. 

West  Kennet,  164  f. 

Westlakc,  Mr,  426. 

Westmoreland,  157. 

Welton,  150,  152. 

Wheat,  219;  Egyptian,  218;  in  lake- 
villages,  216,  218,  233. 

Wheels,  10  f. 

Whelk,  211. 

Whetstone,  ic,  16  f.,  74,  166,  193  ff. 

Whitaker,  Mr,  345,  422. 

Whitburn,  Mr,  343. 

Whitney,  Mr,  278. 

Whittesley,  Mr  C,  254. 

Wibel,  7. 

Wiberg,  65. 

Wilde,  Sir  W.    R.,  76. 

Wilkes,  Capt.,  450,  458  ff.,  552  f. 

Wilkinson,  Sir  G.,  37. 

Willerby  Wold,  155. 

Williams,  J.,  110. 

Williams,  T.,  176,  455,  457,  462,  556. 

Williamson,  Prof.,  142. 

Wilson,  Dr,  132, 144 ;  Prof.,  254,  259  f., 
265,  271,  275,  514  ;  Mr,  483,  487  f., 
570. 

Wiltshire,  47,  97,  108,  144,  159,  164  f., 
422. 

Windward  Islanders,  457. 

Wire,  47. 

Wisconsin,  261  ff.,  274,  523. 

Witchcraft,  575  f. 

Woden's  barrow,  124. 


W6dne  Beorgh,  124. 

Wokey  Hole,  317,  324. 

Wolf,  213,  267,  285,  315,  320,  358  f.  ; 

in     Kjokkenmoddings,     236,     244 ; 

in     lake-villages,    202 ;     in     North 

America,  255. 
Wollaston  Island,  243. 
Wolverine,  or  glutton,  299. 
Woodward,  A.  S.,  337. 
Wool,  56,  103. 
Woollen    garments  found    in  Jutland, 

52. 
Worsaae,   Prof.,  51,  75,    228,  244   ff., 

541. 
Wrangell,  Mr,  566. 
Wrexham,  70. 

Wright,  Mr,  20,  23,  66,  75,  278,  417. 
"  Wummera,"  445. 
Wurmbrand,  Mr,  331. 
Wyaston,  153. 
Wyatt,  346,  352. 
Wyeth,  M.,  518  f.,  523. 
Wykeham  Mow,  154. 
Wyman,  H.,  232. 

Xenophon,  123,  555. 

Yacana-kunny,  527. 

Yarhouse  Broch,  298. 

Yenadies,  570. 

Yew,  366. 

Yonne  valley,  367. 

Yorkshire,  154  ff.,  159. 

Yorubans,  117. 

Yourt,  or  yurt,  491  f.,  507. 

Yule,  Colonel,  139,  572. 

Zanoni,  M,,  68. 

Zinc,  27,  41. 

Zippe,  Prof.,  no. 

Zofingen,  191. 

Zostera  marina,  233. 

Zurich,  Lake  of,  180,  185,  196. 


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